Parallels
by MrQuinn
Summary: ((Chapter 62 added)) MAJOR POWER RANGERS/X MEN CROSSOVER EVENT: Tommy & Trip travel back to the 21st century to aid Wes, Eric, the Silver Guardians and the X-Men in preventing Magneto from destroying the World Peace Summit. ((COMPLETE))
1. Chapter I: The offer

**Author's note: **Thank all of you for your overwhelming response to _"Future Shock"_, and for those who demanded a sequel, your wish is granted. This takes place about two months after Future Shock.

**Disclaimer: **Tommy, Jen, Trip, Katie, Ransik, Captain Logan, Time Force and all likenesses are own by Disney. I am using them without permission, so don't sue me. Camille Summers, Ransorg, Lt. CaSteel and all other original characters are mine. If you use them without permission, I will sue you!

**(*) Parallels (*)**

It had taken almost two days to track him down, and after an in-depth search, they'd tracked the mutant down on an abandoned warehouse on the south side of town. It was part of the city that hadn't been touched in years, making it the perfect place to hide out.

Jen and Katie headed down the dark alley together, each of them with a disrupter in hand. No one from Time Force had gone through that part of the city before, so neither of them knew what to expect.

In the distance, they both heard a loud crash, and tacitly agreed to check it out. They rushed to the end of the alley, eventually stopping at a dumpster. Jen motioned to Katie, who nodded, aiming her disrupter at the dumpster itself.

"Time Force, you're under arrest. Come out with your hands up," Jen said, walking over to the dumpster and opening up the lid.

Sure enough, a mutant stood up in the dumpster, allowing Jen and Katie to get a good look at him. The first noticeable thing was that the mutant had 6 arms, and from first glance, had four eyes. Its skin appeared to me scaly, and a thick, mucus type covering all over its body. The smell alone was enough to make Katie cringe.

"All that searching and all we had to do was follow the smell," she turned to the mutant, pulling out a set of handcuffs. "Alright Kromar, don't try anything stupid like……" she was cut short as the mutant jumped out the dumpster, running down the alley. "Run," she sighed.

Jen and Katie rushed down the alley after the mutant, eventually coming to a two way street. Jen nodded as she and Katie rushed off in different directions. It was Jen who caught up with the mutant in front of the warehouse as it tried to break through the front door.

"Why do you mutants always make it so hard on yourself? Just come in quietly Kromar and we'll….." again, the mutant cut her short as it broke through the door and ran in, only to be cut off by Katie, who aimed a disrupter at its head.

"They always run," she sighed, cuffing the mutant not once, not twice, but three time to accommodate all six arms.

"And we always catch them," Jen reminded her.

The two of them led the mutant to a truck around the corner from the warehouse, where Jen tossed it in the back of the truck, closing and locking the door behind it. 

"I miss the good ole' days Jen," Katie admitted as the two of them got in the truck, making their way towards Time Force headquarters.

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. Time Force has us on street duty. _Us._ We're the most decorated unit in Time Force, and we've been reduced to street duty; running through the city catching common criminals. We should be stopping some temporal incursions, saving the universe from half mutant/half org renegades hell bent and controlling the world, traveling back in time to prevent infractions. Something. Anything other than _street duty_," she explained.

"I know what you mean, but I've been enjoying the easy assignments the last few days. After saving the universe everyday for the last few years, it's nice to have a break," she mentioned as she drove.

"I suppose,"

"Besides, with all the extra time you've got, you've been able to spend a lot more time with Ransik. Haven't you?" Jen brought up.

"You're right, but I'd kill for some action," she said.

"Watch what you wish for Katie, you just might get it," she warned her.

A few minutes later, the two of them pulled into main headquarters. They stepped out the truck where Lt. CaSteel greeted them. "How'd you do tonight ladies?" he inquired.

"We caught Kromar over on the south side, take him to containment room four and have been locked away before he tries to run again. I'll do the paper work in the morning," Jen informed him.

"You got it," he turned to walk away, but paused. "Oh yeah, Captain Logan wants to see you in the science lab. He says it's important," he mentioned.

"Thanks CaSteel," they said, heading for the science lab.

They stepped into the elevator together. "Level seven, science lab," Katie said. And just like that, they were on their way.

Jen couldn't help but agree with Katie; things _had_ been too quiet over the last few weeks. After their mission to stop Ransorg, she'd taken the time to relax a while. She was still adjusting to Tommy being in the 31st century, and trying to come to terms with her feelings for him, but the fact was, it was _too_ much time. 

_'Damn, what I wouldn't give for a distraction. Something to stop me from thinking about Tommy,' _she thought to herself. 

After they corrected all the infractions in the time line, she reviewed the history logs again. As it turns out, Wes never married anyone else. In fact, he remained single until he retired from the Silver Guardians in 2005. She wondered why he walked away from the Guardians and Bio-Lab, but it still struck her as strange that shortly after his retirement, there was no mention of him in the history logs. All she _did_ know was that he married _someone_ named Renee, then disappeared.

Her thoughts were broken as the two of them stepped off the elevator and into the science lab, where Trip, Captain Logan and Tommy were waiting for them.

"How was the patrol?" the Captain asked.

"We captured Kromar. CaSteel is taking him to containment now," Katie said.

"Very good."

"So what's going on Captain?" Jen inquired.

"We asked you to come here so Trip could show you his latest invention," he said.

Trip turned their attention to what appeared to be a giant circle. The circle itself was at least 10 feet tall, maybe 6 or 7 feet wide, and on each end of the circle were a set of control panels. "This is the Quantum Slipstream Dimensional Portal," Trip said with pride in his voice.

"Great, a hula hoop. Very nice," Katie said.

"It's not a hula hoop, it's a……"

"I know, a Quantum slip thingie," she said.

"That's enough Lt," Captain Logan said, stepping in.

"Sorry sir."

"Okay Trip, you've got all of us here. What does the Portal do?" Tommy asked, speaking for the entire group.

"Every decision you make from the miniscule to the monumental determines the direction your life will go; what you ate for breakfast this morning, running a red light and slowing down, all these things have an adverse effect on your life. The theory is that each decision you make, or don't make, can and does happen in an alternate reality," he explained.

"We know that already Trip, Ransorg was from a parallel reality, remember?"

"Yes, but the only way he could travel here was by weakening the barriers between realities. What the Quantum Slipstream does is open a stable gateway between those worlds, allowing us to travel back and forth not only through time, but through dimensions," he told them.

"Are you sure that's a good idea Trip? The last time someone crossed over from a different reality, the world almost came to an end," Tommy pointed out.

"I know, but this is under controlled circumstances. It's in a closed environment, so there is no chance of something like that happening again," he said.

"But why even _want_ to travel to other realities?" Katie inquired.

"When Time Force was originally founded, the counsel stated that no one would be allowed to travel back in time and alter the time line. Temporal Investigations was created to ensure that wouldn't happen, but as you know, there are times when someone or something escapes to the past and tries to alter history. That's where we come in. Now that it's common knowledge that parallel realities exist, it's only a matter of time before someone tries to crossover, or worse, someone from another reality tries to come _here_ with the intention of altering our history. Again, that's where we come in," Trip explained.

"What do you mean?"

"The counsel has decided to assign a special unit to deal with these types of incursions, and I recommended the four of you," Captain Logan told them.

"Why us?"

"Because you've shown you can deal with these types of situations, and with your morphers, you're the only ones unaffected by any changes that may happen. You're the only ones qualified for an assignment like this," he said.

"You said the_ four_ of us, what about Lucas?" Jen inquired.

"Lucas was approached with the idea, but opted against it. After his run in with Ransorg a few months ago, he has no desire to have anything to do with parallel realities," Trip said.

"So what about the fifth morpher?" Katie asked.

"What about Alex? He would be perfect for the job," Tommy brought up.

Captain Logan shook his head. "No, Alex is the head of Temporal Investigations. He'll have his hands full with that. Instead, I've decided to assign someone to your group who is considered an authority on parallel realities; Camille Summers," he said.

"Camille? I thought she was fired?" Jen pointed out.

"Yes, she was, but again, Time Force needs the most qualified people for this assignment. Camille fits that description," the Captain said.

"So when do we start?"

"I want all of you to know that this is a voluntary assignment. Lucas turned down the offer, and no one in Time Force would think any less of you if you turned it down as well. Take 24 hours, and if you're sure, meet me here at 0800 hours for your first mission briefing. Dismissed," he told them.

The four of them remained silent as they walked out the room.


	2. Chapter II: Broken promises

Tommy sat up on the examining table, glancing around the room. Next to the table were several machines, all of which were connected to him in some way via tubes and wires. They seemed to give off a certain humming sound as numbers on the screen fluxuated slightly.

After discovering that being exposed to several types of ranger energy had left him with serious cell damage, he wanted to be absolutely sure before he accepted a full fledge assignment from Time Force. The last thing he needed was to have his cell break down on him on a molecular level. Although he'd only morpher with the Chrono morpher once, and it only lasted a brief time, he could feel the radiation going through his body. If he was going to be exposed to energy levels like that full time, he wanted to know if there would be any side effects.

Finally, his thoughts were broken as the doctor walked over to him with a clipboard in hand.

"What's the word doc?" he inquired.

"My initial testing indicates that you're as healthy as an ox, though I'm sure where that cliché originated from," he put the clipboard down. "The treatments worked Tommy, you're fine now. From what I can tell, the Chrono morpher had no lasting effects on you at all, and you're the healthiest 1,030 year old I know," he told him.

"1,028," he corrected.

The doctor chuckled. "I see no reason why you can't stay in constant contact with the Chrono morpher. You're in no danger," he said, removing the tubes and wires from Tommy.

"Thanks doc,"

"Is there something bothering you Tommy? I get the impression that you _wanted_ me to find something wrong with you," the doctor mentioned.

"It isn't that, it's just……." He paused. "I don't know if I'm ready to dedicate my life to being a ranger again. After I stepped down as red turbo ranger, I promised Kim I wouldn't go back. It's a promise I've kept for years, and even though I did help the other red rangers against the machine empire, I'm not so sure I want to break my promise and go back to being a ranger full time," he explained.

"I understand, I do, but that was a long time ago. I think that if Kim were here, she'd understand."

"I'm not so sure," Tommy sighed.

"Well, you could always go ask her,"

(*)

"I can't believe you're going back to Time Force after the way they treated you last time. They practically threw you out the front door, and now you're jumping at the chance to go back? I swear I don't understand you Camille," she said.

Camille turned her back to her, continuing change her clothes. "I don't expect you to understand mother, just accept my decision. Quantum theories have always been my forte, and now I can be recognized as one of the foremost authorities in the field. It's a chance of a lifetime. Can't you just be happy for me?" she asked her.

"I don't know if I approve of this. I think……"

"I don't need you to approve mother, I'm old enough to make these decisions for myself. Time Force offered me my job back with level 4 clearance and with a hefty promotion. I'm going mother, and that's all there is to it," she said.

"I just want what's best for you," she sighed.

Camille zipped up her uniform, and then turned to her mother. "Believe me when I say this _is_ what's best for me. All that time I spent in the lab following up daddy's work after he died will finally pay off. I'll be able to save people's lives momma, and I need you to be happy for me," she said, walking over to her.

The two of them wrapped their arms around one another. "After I lost your father you were all I had, and now you're leaving me too," she mentioned.

"Oh mom, I'm not leaving you. I'm still only a phone call away, I promise," she told her.

"I guess you're right dear."

"Trust me on this mom, it'll all work out," Camille sighed as she tossed her jacket over her shoulder, kissed her mother on the cheek and walked out the room.

(*)

He'd gained almost ten pounds over the last few weeks, just sitting around the house. And he didn't care. After almost being killed, Lucas was more than content simply staying home. He hadn't even been to work since it happened, and couldn't have contacted them if they hadn't called him and offered him a new position.

His desire to be a Time Force officer had been fading for years, and this was just the excuse he needed. Part of him always felt as though Time Force was unfair for refusing to let Jen go back to the 21st century to be with Wes. _'We can't allow it, its against protocol,' _was the excuse they gave, but he knew the counsel was full of it. He and Nadira approached the counsel about allowing her to apply to the academy, but they were quick to throw another protocol at him. 

_'The rules forbid mutants from joining the academy. After the situation with Steelix, the counsel feels as though mutants in Time Force would be a liability,' _they told him.

After he was stabbed, Time Force gave him some time off to allow him to heal. His wounds had long since healed, but his resentment for Time Force had grown. He no longer had the desire to be a part of an organization that enforced the rules at the leisure, and changed the rules when it suited their needs.

His thoughts were interrupted when someone knocked on his door. Judging by the pattern of the knock, he knew exactly who it was. "Come on in Trip, it's open," he called out, not even bothering to get off the couch.

Trip and Nadira walked in the door, closing it behind themselves and headed into the livingroom.

Trip quickly noticed that Lucas had left himself go over the past few weeks. He'd gained some weight, and his hair looked as though he hadn't done anything with it in days. Lucas had on his housecoat and a pair of pajamas, which looked like he'd had them on since he left Time Force. 

"Hey Lucas," he said.

"Trip, it's good to see you," he pushed some empty pizza boxes off the couch, making room for him. "Have a seat man, tell me what's going on," he said.

"He's been like that ever since……." Nadira tried to tell him, but Trip raised his hand slightly.

"It's okay Nadira," he sat down next to Lucas. "Logan gave me funding for my slipstream dimensional portal, I finished it about a week ago," he said.

"Congratulations man, you'd talked about that damn portal for weeks. I'm glad they let you build it,"

"They offered you a spot in the project Lucas, why didn't you accept it?" he asked.

"You know why. Time Force is full of shit!" he told him.

"That's not true,"

"It isn't?" he stood up. "Nadira, what did Logan tell you when you applied to the academy?" he asked.

"That it was against protocol," she said.

"But a few weeks later when Time Force found a use for Ransik, they let him travel back to the 21st century with us, didn't they? It's okay for a former criminal to help out, but when his daughter wants to make a sincere effort, they turn her away. It's bullshit Trip and you know it," Lucas snapped.

"The counsel only did what they felt was best," he said in their defense.

"Yeah, best for them. Let Ransik solve their mutorg problem _for_ them, but not let Nadira join the academy because it doesn't benefit them?! It's always been like that Trip; Time Force uses people to serve their purpose, and if they refuse, they get their mind wiped," he walked over to the refrigeration, grabbing a beer. "I bet you they offered Tommy a spot in the project too, didn't they?" he asked.

"Yeah, they did."

"I bet if he said no, they'd order memory adaptation for him. They wanted to do it to him last time, and once his purpose has been served, they'll come up with a protocol that drains his brain too. I'm not giving them the chance to squeeze me for everything I'm worth, I quit," Lucas told him, opening his beer.

"But Lucas, Time Force helps people. They protect us……"

"From what? The mutants? If it weren't for Time Force experimenting with human DNA in the first place, there wouldn't be any mutants. If they hadn't tampered with time travel in the first place, there wouldn't be a need for us to go back in time and clean up their mistakes. Now you're opening the door for them to not only screw with time, but screw with other dimensions to. I don't want anything else to do with them, and if your reason for coming here was to convince me I should come back to work, you can leave," he said, sitting back down on the couch.

Trip stood up. "Come on Nadira, let's go," he sighed.

Without another word, the two of them walked out the room, closing the door behind them.

(*)

It wasn't the same Angel Grove that he remembered. Ernie's Juice Bar was gone, the youth center was gone, even the park that he and the others use to go to had been replaced by a building. The only thing that was the same was the sky. 

He remembered staring into the sky and watching the sunset, counting the stars and trying to envision what the future would be like….

… his future with her…

The future he'd planned with Kimberly was long gone, the promises he'd made to her was all he had left. He couldn't help but think that if he accepted this assignment, the last part of Kimberly Hart he had left would be gone as well.

The sun was beginning to set as he walked into the graveyard. Somehow, he found it comforting that the cemetery had gone untouched over the years. Granted, there were more tombstones than he remembered, but not that it mattered; he knew exactly where she was.

He stood in front of her tombstone, wiping the dirt and leaves away from it. "Hey beautiful, it's been a while," he sighed, bending down on one knee. "A lot of things have changed since the last time I came to see you, so much that I don't know where to start really. I have a chance to be a ranger again, a chance to save lives in ways we never imagined possible with Zordon. I know I promised you I'd never go back, but you understood when I told you I had to stop the machine empire. I'm asking you to understand now. This is something I have to do Kim," he cried, placing a single white rose in front of her tombstone.

The wind blew slightly as he wiped the tears away from his face, heading back to the car. As soon as he closed the car door, Jen started the car.

"How did it go?"

"I think she understood," he sighed as they pulled away.

(*)

"Do you think the others are coming?" Captain Logan asked as he stood in the science lab, staring up at the clock over the entrance.

It was already 0746 hours, and the only people to show up were Trip and Katie. He was beginning to think that giving them 24 hours to think about it was a bad idea.

"They'll be here," she assured him.

"What did Ransik have to say when you told him about the project?" he asked.

"He understood that this was something I wanted to do. He supported my decision," she said.

"That's good."

They were interrupted when Jen walked into the room wearing her uniform. "You didn't start the fun without me, did you?" she asked.

"Naw, we'd never dream of it," Trip said, walking over to her and wrapping her arms around her.

"Where is everyone else?"

"I talked to Camille this morning, and she seemed excited about coming. I tried to call Tommy, but he didn't answer the phone," Katie mentioned.

"And what about Lucas?"

"I went to see him, he had some colorful things to say about Time Force. I doubt he's coming," Trip sighed.

"It won't be the same without him," Jen sighed.

Next to walk in the room was Camille, getting a look at the portal for the first time. "This is amazing," she rushed over to it, observing the configuration. "Does it have a polotronic electron core for it's energy source?" she asked.

"Actually, it's a duel polotronic electron core amplified with regenerating algorithm sequencers for addition power," Trip said.

"But how did you account for the random EM flux in the phase converter?"

"Easy, I bi passed the secondary power distribution unit and used it for a back up system in the case the three others failed. That eliminated the EM flux altogether," he said.

"Excellent work."

"Yeah, I think Camille is excited to be here," Jen said with a smile.

Captain Logan glanced up at the clock. "It's 0907 hours, I don't think Tommy is coming," he mentioned.

"But when I saw him yesterday, he seemed like he was okay with taking the assignment. When he got out the car he even said 'I'll see you tomorrow'. I was sure he'd be here," she said.

"Well, I guess we're on our own," Katie said.

"Look at you guys, a few minutes late and you're ready to count me out. Jeez," Tommy said as he walked in the room wearing an official Time Force uniform.

"Wow, you look good," she said.

"Yeah, _real_ good," Jen mumbled.

"I was having some problems putting this thing on, sorry I'm late," he said.

"Not a problem. Alright everyone, gather around," the five of them stood in a straight line next to one another in front of Captain Logan, who had a small metal box in his hand. "This will go down in history as one of the most significant moments in Time Force's history, and I am honored to stand before the five of you now. The dawns a new era for our organization, and I know that each of you will do your best to uphold the principles and protocols that Time Force stands for," he opened the box, revealing the Chrono morphers. "As you know, I took your morphers from you to be upgraded. Now, in addition to your ranger powers and the communications equipment inside, you will be given a sight to sight transportation unit, allowing you to transport limited distances. Also, the morphers have been given deflector technology. Normally, prolonged exposure to the portal would break down your molecules, but with the deflector technology, that won't be a problem," Captain Logan explained. 

"That's a relief," Tommy sighed.

"Jen, you will of course have the pink Chrono morpher. Trip, the green Chrono morpher belongs to you. Katie, as always, the yellow Chrono morpher is yours. Camille, you will receive the blue Chrono morpher, and Tommy, you will wield the power of the red Chrono morpher. Together, you are the power rangers," he said proudly.

Each of them picked up their morphers, sliding them on their wrists. "I can feel the power surging through me," Camille said, feeling the power for the first time.

"I thought the morphers were encoded to our DNA?" Katie brought up.

"Yes and no. For you, Jen and Trip, the morphers _are_ connected to your DNA. No one else will be able to use them. Camille's morpher had to be deactivated, then reset to work for her, but Tommy's case was unusual; because of the shifts in the time line a few months ago, the morpher seemed to reactivate itself. When the other Captain Logan gave him the morpher, Alex had been erased from history, so the morpher had never taken a sample of his DNA. It was like….."

"…. The morpher was brand new," Trip said.

"Exactly,"

"If you're ready, let's get to work," the captain said as he walked over to the portal. "I will personally remain in the science lab while you're on your missions. You will be able to communicate with me here, and that will come in handy. When you arrive to – where ever you're going – I'll be able to pull up the history of that world, just to give you an idea of what you're working with," he told them.

"Understood."

"Preliminary tests with surveillance cameras through the portal have been able to record and bring back images of other worlds, and live tests subjects have successfully come through the portal as well, but this….."

"….. you mean people have never used this thing?" Katie asked.

"There's nothing to worry about Katie. The physical make up of animals are remarkably similar to ours. I've gone over the specs a few times, and I don't foresee anything harmful," Camille pointed out.

"Yeah, that makes me feel better," she sighed.

"I'm going to send the five of you through the portal on your first test run. Explore as much as you can, but return to the transfer point in exactly one hour. That's the only real catch; you _have_ to be in the same spot where you originally arrived in that world in order for me to open the portal and bring you back," he stressed.

"Understood."

"Okay guys, here we go," Tommy said.

Captain Logan activated the portal, which shined with a brilliant blue light. Each of them tried to get a good look at the portal, but was forced to cover their eyes to shield them from the light. It was Trip and Camille who were able to get a good look.

"Beautiful," they sighed in unison.

"Alright guys, let's go," Jen said as she walked over to the portal, stepping inside.

Trip and Camille were next to step through, followed by Tommy. Katie simply glanced at the portal, slowly inches towards it. Just then, an arm reached through the other side of the portal, grabbing Katie and pulling her in.

"Good luck you guys," Captain Logan sighed.


	3. Chapter III: Frax & the android alliance

Jen stepped through the portal, quickly getting a good look at her surroundings. As far as the eye could see, there were no trees, no buildings, nothing. The moon shined through the otherwise dark surroundings, but not enough light to ascertain where she was.

She turned around as Camille and Trip stepped through the blue swirling vortex behind them. Camille shook her head slightly, trying to fight off the disorientation. "Whoa, what a rush," she sighed as Tommy stepped through the vortex as well.

"Is everyone accounted for?" Jen asked.

They glanced around. "Where is Katie?" Trip replied.

It was Tommy who reached inside the blue vortex with one hand, and seconds later, pulled Katie through.

"What is this place?" Katie asked as she looked around.

"I can tell you that this is New Silver Hills, and year is still 3000, but it seems that events took an unexpected turn in his reality," Camille mentioned.

The blue vortex began to shrink until finally, it disappeared altogether. "Alright, Captain Logan said we had one hour, so I don't suggest we split up. The last thing we need is for someone to get left here in this – whatever this place is," Jen instructed.

"She's right, we should stick together and cover as much ground as we can," Tommy elaborated.

"From the looks of things, I'd say that either Time Force was never founded, or has already been destroyed. There doesn't seem to be any type of technology anywhere," Trip mentioned.

"But how could Time Force simply disappear?"

"It didn't. Remember, one change in the time line could have prevented Time Force from being founded. The major turning point in the evolution of Time Force was the formation of the Silver Guardians. If something disrupted that, future history would have changed for this world," he explained.

_'He's right rangers,' _they heard a voice say.

It was Tommy who reached for his morpher. "Captain Logan?" he asked.

_'The one and only. As soon as you arrived in that reality, I ran a spectrographic analysis, and as it turns out, Time Force did exist, but is gone now,' _he said.

"What do you mean?"

_'In the year 2001, Time Force did send a group of rangers to prevent Ransik from changing history, but from what I've read about this world, it was Frax who broke away from Ransik and not only destroyed him, but defeated the rangers as well. As a result, Frax overthrew the entire world with a race of androids, and humans have been all but destroyed in this world,' _he explained.

"An entire world run by robots," Katie sighed.

"Are there any humans left?" he asked.

_'None that the records indicate, but that doesn't mean there aren't a few resistance movements with humans in them. Just stay out of harms way until the hour is up, then return to base,' _he told them.

"Why not just transport back now?" Jen asked.

"Opening the portal prematurely would cause an instability in the portal itself. There's no telling where we might end up," Camille told them.

_'She's right. It's best you just wait until the time expires,'_ he said.

"Thanks Captain. Tommy out," he said, turning off his communicator.

"The first thing we should do is find somewhere to lay low until the portal reopens," Jen suggested.

"You're not going anywhere humans," they heard a voice say.

They turned around only to find themselves surrounded by a group of robots. Each of them seemed to heavily armored, and each had a phaser riffle in hand.

"Is this the part that you tell us we're under arrest?" Katie asked.

"No, this is the part where we destroy you," one of the robots said as they aimed their weapons at them.

"Let'em get'em guys," Jen said, standing in position.

_"TIME FOR, TIME FORCE," _they called out, each of them morphing into their ranger uniforms.

Katie lunged at two of the robots, slamming them together. As they fell to the ground, she kicked another one in the chest, knocking it into a fourth robot. Tommy and Jen teamed up, hitting a double kick to one of the robots, knocking them over. As they fell to the ground, Camille picked up one of the phaser riffles, blasting a hole through the remaining robots.

"So much for that," Trip said as he powered down, then leaned over, examining one of the robots.

"What is it Trip?" Camille asked, powering down as well.

"I don't recognize the configuration on these robots, they're far beyond anything Frax has ever been able to accomplish. He's got to be getting help," he said.

"But from who?"

"At the risk of sounding insensitive, who cares? We'll be out of here in about 45 minutes, what goes on in this world isn't our concern," Jen told them.

"But it _is_ our concern, it's what we do. If we allow Frax to continue making these robots, it's only a matter of time before they discover that inter-dimensional travel is possible. If an army of these things came through the portal, we'd have no way of stopping them all," Trip explained.

"I hate to say it, but Trip is right. If we can put a stop to these robots here and now, we should. If we wander too far away from the check point, we can use the sight to sight transporter to get back," Tommy said.

"Even if there is something we can do about these robots, we don't even know where the factory is. It could take us days just to find it," she pointed out.

Just then, the robot Trip had been working on stood up and began to walk away. "It's okay guys, they're designed to return to home base if a malfunction occurs. Safe to say us beating the snot out of them qualifies as a malfunction," he said.

"So all we have to do is follow this guy to where ever he's going, storm in and destroy an entire complex of evil robots," she glanced down at her morpher. "And we've got 39 minutes to do it," Jen mentioned.

(*)

The five of them followed the android back to what appeared to be a complex of some sort, doing their best to stay out of sight. The android stopped in front of a door, and moments later it opened, allowing it in.

Jen silently motioned to Camille and Trip to investigate, and the two of them hurried over to the building. Camille peeked inside, where they seemed to be an entire army of androids being built. 

"Looks like thousands of them," she sighed.

"More like hundreds of thousands. It's going to take more than we have to shut this place down," he said.

"What do you suggest?"

"We could plant charges along the outside of the building and blow the place sky high, but I'm sure that if androids have taken over the entire world, there would have to be buildings like this all over the place. Taking this one out won't do much good," he said.

At that moment, an alarm went off, and the doors on the building opened, letting the entire android army out. Before Camille and Trip had a chance to move, they were surrounded by androids. Jen was ready to make her move, but Trip motioned her to stay away as the androids pulled them inside.

"I can't believe it, power rangers," they heard a voice say as they headed inside.

The androids led them to the end of the room, where they was a thrown of some sort. The chair itself spun around, and an android glared down at them. This android, however, wasn't like the others they'd encountered. From first glance, it appeared to be human, but with bio-mechanical parts attached to it.

"Who are you?" Camille asked in a firm tone.

"My, such confidence in your voice young lady, but you're hardly in the position to play twenty questions with me," the android said.

It was Trip who recognized the voice. "Frax?" he inquired.

"Oh so you do remember me, I'm so happy," he said.

"But what happened to you, how did you……."

"After the war with Ransik, I was left for dead. A scientist found my remains and reactivated me, trying to transfer his thoughts into my exo-skeleton. What he didn't bargain on was that I wouldn't give up my body without a fight, and his consciousness was absorbed into my bio implants," he told them.

"So you're part human now?"

"More than you think. Over the years, I was able to perfect the scientist's theories and I've successfully intergraded a biological host into an android body. I am, in essence, a human," he explained.

"All the humans on this world weren't killed, they were turned into robots," Camille sighed.

"What I don't understand is how the two of you have been able to survive all these years and not be discovered by my droid alliance. I suspect you're from the future," he said.

"Believe what you want, but know that it won't be too long before your operation is shut down, and all the humans are set free," Trip said.

"And who's going to save the day this time? The two of you? Do you honestly think you'll be able to put an end to what I've accomplished here? The two of you will make fine additions to my alliance," Frax said as he stood up.

Just then, the other rangers broke through the windows in the building, making their way towards Frax. Camille and Trip broke away from the androids who held them, then lunged at Frax, taking him down.

"What are you expecting to accomplish here rangers? The entire world is under my control, there is nothing you can do to stop that," Frax told him.

"I can think of something," Camille said as she fired a disrupted at him, hitting him at point blank ranger. Sparks shot out of his body as he collapsed, and his eyes dim. Seconds later, there was a spark in each of the androids as they fell to their knees.

"What's happening?"

"Without Frax, the robotic implants aren't holding. They're breaking free of his control," Camille brought up.

"Take Frax into custody, we'll take him with us to make sure he doesn't get control of these people again," Jen said.

"Whatever we're going to do, we have to do it now. The portal will open in 12 minutes," Tommy mentioned.

"Lets get out of here," Katie said as she put Frax over her shoulder and walked away.

(*)

"Is this the place?" Jen asked, looking around in the empty field.

"I don't know, it all looks the same," Camille said, trying to sound something familiar from the last time they were there.

Tommy reached for his morpher. "Captain, this is Tommy. We're at the transport coordinates, we think," he said.

_'The portal won't open for another five minutes,' _the captain responded.

"Understood."

"I wish we had more time to look around, to find out what other changes went on in this world. We're the first people to ever have the chance to travel successfully from one world to another and back, this really is the beginning of a new era for not just Time Force, but for mankind as a whole," Trip told them.

"You're starting to sound like the captain now," Katie mentioned.

"He's right, we've truly gone where no one else has dared to go, this really is a groundbreaking event," Camille said, defending him.

"Thanks Camille,"

A few feet away, a blue swirling vortex opened. It was Tommy who was the first to notice it. "Our ride is here guys," he said.

The five of them headed towards the vortex, but before any of them could step inside, someone came through the vortex.

"What the hell?" Katie exclaimed.

Five figures stepped through the portal, and seconds later, it closed. Each of the figures had on Time Force uniforms.

"Oh my God," Jen sighed.

"It's us," Tommy added.

The five of them stood face to face with their doubles, with the exceptions of Camille, who found herself staring at Lucas back in duty uniform, and Tommy, who was face to face with Alex.

"What the hell is going on?" the other Jen asked.

"I think I have an explaination," both of them Trip's said in unison.

"This should be interesting,"

"It's reasonable to assume that in other realities, I've created the Slipstream dimensional portal. If that's the case, there _is_ other Time Force somewhere who has assembled the same special unit team that we have," he said.

"That means we stand the chance of bumping into ourselves everytime we travel to a new world," the other Trip added.

"If you guys are here to see what's going on and report back, you can just go back. We've already been here," Katie mentioned, still holding Frax over her shoulder.

"Maybe you overlooked something," the other Katie brought up.

"I doubt it, we're good."

"We're better,"

"I doubt that."

Katie dropped Frax and stood face to face with her other self, but it was Alex who stepped in-between them. "Listen you two, we're all on the same team…. Kind of. There's no need for us to fight amongst ourselves," he said.

"He's right," Tommy added.

The other Jen noticed Frax as Katie put him back over her shoulder. "What is that?" she asked.

"It's Frax, he'd been changing humans into bio-mechanical androids on this world, but we put a stop to it and we're taking him into custody," Jen told her.

"That goes against Time Force protocol," Lucas said, chiming in with his opinion.

It was enough to make Trip crack a smile. "Since when do you care about the protocols?" he asked.

Lucas stared at him. "I always care about the protocols," he said firmly.

"Well, that might be _your_ protocol, but our Time Force has given us strict instructions to……" she was cut short as another vortex opened. "That's our ride," Jen said, heading towards the vortex.

She was the first to step through, followed by Katie with Frax over her shoulder. Next was Trip and Camille, leaving Tommy with the other Time Force officers.

"Good luck you guys," he said, nodding slightly, then stepped through the portal.

"Was that Tommy Oliver?" Jen asked as they watched the vortex close.

"You mean from the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers? Naw, it couldn't have been," Alex said.

(*)

"Your first mission was a success rangers, I'm proud of you," Captain Logan said as he shut down the portal.

"Thank you sir," Jen said.

"I'll get this guy down to containment," Katie said, walking out the room with Frax over her shoulder.

"Were there any incidents?"

The four of them looked at one another, then back at the captain. "No sir," Tommy said, speaking for the group.

"I look forward to reading your reports none the less. Get some rest, you've earned it, and we'll start bright and early tomorrow. Dismissed," he said.

One by one, all of them walked out the room.


	4. Chapter IV: Decisions pt 1

**Author's note: **Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to review and give me constructive criticism. Read, review and enjoy.

(*) Decisions Pt. One (*) 

Trip had been in the lab most of the evening, going over calculations and running tests on the portal. Although their first mission had been a success, he wanted to be absolutely sure things would continue to go smoothly.

He was surrounded by papers, most of them crumpled up and tossed aside, the rest with complex calculations and equations.

"What'cha workin' on?" he heard a voice ask.

He turned around to see Camille standing behind him. It was the first time he'd seen her wearing her hair was down, hanging just passed her shoulders….. and it liked it.

"Oh, hey Camille. I was just going over some research," he mentioned.

She reached down, picking up some of the papers. "Looks like some heavy duty stuff here," she flipped through the papers. "You're testing the portal to see what happens in pre-mature activation," she noticed.

"I've sent three probes in, programming each of them to return at different times. The first was set to come back in fifteen minutes, and it made it back successfully. The second was sent in programmed to come back in twenty minutes, and it came back. The third was programmed to come back in thirty minutes, but I pulled it back ten minutes early," he said.

"What happened?"

"I lost the signal. Whatever it is, I can't track it," he told her.

"I guess we better not try to come back sooner than we're scheduled to. We could get lost in another dimension and have no way to get back," she said.

"Let's hope it never comes to that," Trip sighed.

Jen and Tommy walked into the lab next, heading over to Trip. "What's our resident genius working on this time?" she asked him.

"Just going over some readings," he said.

"Have you been in here all night?" Tommy inquired.

"What time is it?" he glanced up at the clock. "Oh wow, I _have_ been in here all night," he realized.

"It's 0900 hours Trip, time for our next assignment," Camille said.

"I think I'll sit this one out guys, I really need to get some sleep," Trip said as he stood up, wiping his eyes.

"Go ahead, I'm sure we'll be able to handle this one," she said.

Without another word, Trip headed for the door, walking past Katie as she walked into the lab. "Where is he going?" she asked.

"Sleep."

"So what's on the 'to do' list for today?" she asked.

"Don't know. We'll get this thing started and see where it takes us," Camille mentioned, heading over to the controls.

"Where is Captain Logan?" Katie asked.

"Right here. You didn't think I'd let you start without me, did you?" he replied.

"Wouldn't dream of it sir,"

"An hour wasn't very long the last time, but it was enough for you to get the job done. Still, I'd prefer that you stay for two hours this time. It'll give you time to observe as much as you can," he suggested.

"We can handle it," Jen said, speaking for the group.

Captain Logan walked over to the controls, sitting down in front of the control panel. "I'm ready whenever you are," he said, activating the portal.

One by one, Tommy, Jen, Katie and Camille walked through the portal……

(*)

They found themselves in what appeared to be the science lab, but there were major differences. For one, the Slipsteam portal was gone, along with most of the equipment. The lights were off, or maybe on backup power, because the entire room was dim.

"What's going on?" Camille asked.

"This is Time Force, but the auxiliary power has been activated. We should get to the conference room, see what's happening here," Jen suggested.

The two of them walked over to the door, but it wouldn't open. 

"Open," Katie said, but with no luck. Finally, Katie got a firm grip on both sides of the door and pulled them open herself, then stood aside to allow the others through.

"It pays to have someone with superhuman strength on your team," Tommy said.

They headed down the hallway, making a right and stopped in front of the elevator. "It's safe to say that if the doors won't open, the elevator won't work either. We'll have to use the service ladders. We'll split up, try to cover more ground. Camille, you come with me. Tommy, you and Katie see if you can get main power restored," she instructed.

Each of them nodded, then went their separate ways.

(*)

Katie and Tommy crawled through the service corridors, which couldn't have been any higher than three feet, making their way to the main generator. It amazed Tommy that Jen didn't pick him to go with her, but then again, understood why. _'The last thing we need right now are distractions,' _he thought to himself.

The two of them came to the end of the corridors, and Katie punched through the metal grate covering the hole, then climbed out. She helped Tommy out the corridor, finding themselves in front of the main control room.

"This is it; this is where all the power for the entire building is generated," she said, but noticed that the door needed a hand imprint to open. Instead of trying, she grabbed hold of the door, snatching it off the hinges, throwing it aside. "What? The thing wouldn't have worked anyway," she mentioned.

They headed inside, only to find several dead bodies spread through out the room. Tommy hurried over to them, checking them for a pulse, but came up empty handed. "What could have killed them?" he asked.

"Looks like there was an explosion in here, an explosion large enough to knock out the main power in the building and kill them at the same time," she leaned down, checking on one of the bodies, only to discover it was – _her._ "Seems like I didn't have much luck the first time I came down here," she sighed.

"Come on, there's nothing we can do here. Lets just go," he said, walking out the room.

(*)

Camille and Jen made it to the conference room, where there was a sea of lifeless bodies laid out around the room. They quickly hurried in, checking on each of them.

"They're all dead," Camille sighed.

"What the hell happened here?" she inquired.

_'I may be able to shed some light on that for you Jennifer,' _a voice said.

Jen quickly reached for her morpher. "What do you have for me Captain?" she asked.

_'The logs indicate that immediately after your original mission to the 21st century to capture Ransik, you decided to go back to the 21st century, presumably to be with Wesley Collins. It went against the judgment of the counsel, and Alex was sent to the 21st century to bring you back. Details are fussy on how or why, but Alex was killed in the year 2001, starting a paradox type effect that disrupted the flow of the future. Time Force was crippled, and emergency power came on line. Unfortunately, there was a malfunction in the containment modules. All the mutants that Time Force had captured over the years were set free, and they went on a massive killing spree, eliminating almost every member of Time Force. Mutants then set their sights on the rest of city. According to the records, they have control of New Silver Hills, Mariner Bay, Turtle Cove, Angel Grove and Sunnydale. At present time, most of the world  is under their control,' _he explained.

"All this is _my_ fault," Jen sighed.

_'This is just one of the possibilities Jennifer. When the time came in our world, you made the right decision. There isn't anything you can do to save this world, the damage has been done. The four of you should stay out of harm's way until the portal opens,'_ he said.

"We have to put a stop to this," she said.

'_No, you don't. With no one left to run Time Force, the Slipstream portal will never be built on that world. There is no risk of them ever coming to our world. When the portal reopens, just come home_,' he ordered.

Jen turned off her communicator. "We're going to stop the mutants from taking over this city," Jen told her.

"But Jen, the captain said……"

"I don't care what he said, this is my fault and I'm going to go what I can to help the humans left on this world," she said.

"But theres nothing we can do. They're all dead now, and mutants have taken over most of the world. We're only four people Jen, we can't help them this way. If we stay here, we'll end up dead too," Camille said.

Ignoring Camille, Jen reached for her morpher. "Tommy, this is Jen. You and Katie meet me in hanger six," she said.

_'Acknowledged Jen. We'll be there,' _a voice said.

(*)

The four of them met up in hanger six, and Jen explained to the others what had happened to the world. 

"What do you expect to do to save these people? I'm hurt that something like this happened, but what's done is done," Katie said.

"Not necessarily," Jen said, directing their attention to the time ship.

"You want to go back in time in another reality. Do you have any idea what you're doing?" Camille asked.

"I know exactly what I'm doing,"

"If we do this, we won't be able to get back to the portal in time. We'll all be stuck here, in this world," Tommy reminded her.

"If the rest of you don't want to come, fine. This is something I have to do," Jen told them, making her way towards the time ship.

"What do you guys think?" Camille asked.

"We're a team. If she's going to do this, she's going to need help," Katie said, hurrying to catch Jen.

"She's right, lets go," Tommy said.

**TBC…….**


	5. Chapter V: Decisions pt 2

The time ship set down along the shore just outside Silver Hills. Jen shut down the engines, and without a word to the others, headed to the exit.

Camille took a step forward, wanting to say something, but it was Tommy who put his hand on her shoulder, tacitly telling her to let Jen go. He hadn't known Jennifer very long, but he knew that when she set her mind to something, there wasn't anyone or anything that could stop her.

"You two stay here, Jen and I will handle this one. Just have the ship ready in one hour. If we're not back, leave without us and get back to the portal," Tommy instructed.

"But that would mean you and Jen would……" Katie was cut short.

"Get back to the portal in one hour, with or without us," he said in a firm tone, then raced after Jen.

By the time he caught up with her, she was already on the shore of the beach, walking with determination in her stride.

"You didn't have to come Thomas," she said, not once looking back.

"Are we being formal now _Jennifer_?" he asked, walking alongside her.

"This doesn't concern you, what happened to this reality is _my_ fault. I have to fix it," she told him.

"What do you plan to do? Walk up to your other self and say _'hey, I know you love Wes, but you have to go back to the future. I know because I was just there,'_? I understand why you feel this way, but……." He was cut short as Jen stopped dead in her tracks.

"No, you don't understand how I feel. My feelings for Wes destroyed the future, I made a decision that ruined the lives of millions of people. This is why you should never let your personal feelings effect your work. Never get involved with the people you work with, it only leads to trouble," she told him.

"I know what this is about Jen," he stood in front of her. "You blame yourself for ruining Alex' life when you went to the 21st century the first time. You probably thought that your lives together would have happy if you had never taken that mission, but instead, you hurt him and hurt yourself in the process. To make it worse, you feel in love with one of his descendants, and you think that your feelings may have ruined someone else's life. You need to stop beating yourself up about the decisions you've made. With any decision comes a consequence, and its how you deal with those consequences that really matter," he explained to her.

She paused, looking into his eyes. It amazed her how someone who'd only known her for a few weeks would be able to read her like a book. "You don't know anything about me Tommy. Now stay out of my way, I have work to do," Jen said as she walked away.

(*)

Jen stood outside of Bio-Lab, almost getting the feeling that she'd been there only a few short days ago. _'That's the hard part about time travel, it's hard to keep your days straight,'_ she thought to herself.

She knew that walking up to Wes and trying to explain the situation would be more than either of them could handle, so she decided to talk to Wes' bestfriend. _'If anyone can talk some sense into Wes, it's Eric,'_ she thought.

As luck would have it, Eric walked out the building with a monotone look on his face, which, under normal circumstances, wasn't unusual for Eric, but there was something different about him. Eric hurried around to the back of the building, where the Silver Guardians did most of their training. Behind Bio-Lab where several hanger bays, which they used to store the Guardians vehicles and worked on prototypes. Jen quietly followed Eric behind the building, where he ducked into one of the hanger bays.

She rushed over to the window and peeked in, where she was amazed at what she saw. "A time ship," she mumbled.

She watched as the hatch on the time ship opened, and _she_ stepped out. She looked on in utter confusion as _Jen_ stepped out the ship, running into Eric's arms. Things seemed to get any more bizarre when Jen – the other Jen - wrapped her arms around Eric and kissed him. 

Her first reaction was to rush in and kill them both. _'How could I betray Wes like that? With his best friend no less?! What a slut,' _she thought.

Before she could make a move, she felt the barrel of a gun pressed into her back. "Stay where you are and put your hands up," she heard a voice say.

_'No doubt one of the Silver Guardians out on patrol,'_ she thought to herself. Without saying a word, she fell to her knees, kicking back, kicking him between the legs. She did a flip, kicking him in the mouth, and then landed on her feet, grabbing the gun as it fell. Before he could make a move, she had the gun pointed at him.

"Don't even think about it soldier boy," she said.

"Jen? I didn't know it was you. I'm sorry ma'am," he said, standing up.

"Cadet, what's going on here?" a voice asked. Jen knew who it was before she even turned around, but when she did, Eric, who was standing next to the other Jen, looked at her with confusion in his eyes. "Jenny? But how……"

"It's a long story," she sighed.

Eric pulled out his gun. "You've got 30 seconds, gimme the short version," he insisted.

Jen couldn't help but glance over at her _other_ self, who looked completely different. Her hair was shorter, and looked as if she'd dyed it a deep red-ish blonde. _'Not exactly my color, but it works,'_ she thought. She quickly turned her attention back to Eric.

"I'm from the future, and I'm here to warn you," she said.

"How can you be from the future? _I'm_ from the future?" the other Jen asked.

"Listen, both of you; I know that you came back here to be with Wes, but if you stay here, it will……" Eric interrupted her.

"What do you mean 'be with Wes'? She came here to be with me," he pointed out.

"What?"

"I resigned from Time Force and I came here to be with Eric and make my own destiny," she said.

Jen was at a lose for words. She thought back as far as she could, trying to determine when and where she could have fallen for Eric instead of Wes. _'That incident at the health club with the elixirs that turned people into robots,' _she thought. _'I flirted with Eric to make Wes jealous, and somehow, it went from there,'_

"I'm here to tell you that Alex is on his way here to bring you back to the year 3000. If you don't, time will be altered and mutants will take over the entire city. After so long, all the humans in the future will be killed. You have to go back, to save the future, to save Alex," she told them.

"If all the humans are killed, how did you come back to warn us?" Eric asked.

"It's a much longer story than I care to explain, and time is running out. Jen, you have to go back," Jen told her.

"She's right," they heard a voice say.

Alex walked over to them in his Time Force uniform and his deeply tinted sunglasses, as always with an expressionless look on his face. "Alex?" both the Jens' mumbled in unison.

"I'm under orders to bring you back to the future by any means necessary Jen," he said.

Eric turned the gun away from Jen and towards Alex. "I'm not letting you take her from me. We love each other," he said.

"I'm sure you do, but would you weigh that love against the lives of countless billions? The future will be destroyed if you stay here Jen, this isn't how things were meant to be," Alex said.

"I make my own destiny," Jen said.

"Then I have no choice but to place you under arrest for violation of Time Force law 3741-9: willfully obstructing the time line for personal gain," he said, pulling out a pair of handcuffs.

"Don't make me shoot you," Eric snapped.

Jen walked over to Eric, putting her hand on the gun. "This isn't how you want it to go, is it Eric? I know that deep down, you love her…. Um, me…. Um, Jen, but this isn't how it's suppose to be," she said.

"I'm not going back," the other Jen said.

"Sounds to me like Jenny has her mind made up. She stays," Eric said.

Jen walked over to her other self. "I've learned the hard way that business and pleasure doesn't mix, but I know what you feel for Eric is real. When you decided to come here, you were sure the only person it would affect was you, but now you know that _billions_ of peoples lives are at stake. Do you really want to destroy the future for your own personal benefit? You have to go back Jen, you don't belong here," she explained.

The other Jen took a deep breath. "I'm sorry Eric," she sighed.

"Jenny? No! Stay here, with me,"

"We both know I can't," she said.

"But what about us? About our baby?" he asked.

"I'll do my best to raise him by myself, I promise," she said with a tear in her eye.

"I wish I could live another 1000 years so we could be together again," Eric cried.

_'Where have I heard **that**__before?' _Jen thought to herself.

The other Jen kissed Eric warmly on the cheek, and then walked over to Alex, extending her arms to him. Without a word, Alex put the handcuffs on her, escorting her away. Both Eric and Jen watched on as Alex took her away, both of them with a sense of confusion.

"So," he turned to Jen. "You're from the future, how does all this work out?" he asked her.

"Lets just say that everything is as it should be," Jen said as she reached for her morpher, then disappeared into a stream of pink light.

(*)

"If we don't leave in the next three minutes, we'll all be stuck here," Camille mentioned as she looked at the clock in the time ship.

"Jen knew the risks. Start the engines, it's time for us to go," Tommy said.

"We can't just leave her here," Katie mentioned.

"We can't just stay here either, we have to go," he insisted.

"Hes right," she said, starting the engines.

At that moment, Jen appeared in a stream of pink light. "Whoa, that was interesting," she said.

"You made it."

"How did it go?" Tommy asked.

"Everything should be back on track now. I'm…. I mean, the other me, is on her way back to the year 3000," she said.

"Good,"

"Now lets get going before we're all stuck here," Camille said as she started the take off procedures.

(*)

As soon as the hatch opened and the four of them stepped out, they were confronted by Alex and Captain Logan, who had a group of armed Time Force officers with them.

"Just who in the hell are you?" the Captain asked.

"Like I told Alex, it's a long story," Jen said.

"I hate to break this up, but we don't have time for the long version. We have to get to the science lab before the portal opens," Camille pointed out.

"How much time do we have?"

"About four minutes," she said.

"All of you get to the science lab, I'll meet you there," Jen told them.

Ignoring the guards altogether, Tommy, Camille and Katie headed for the science lab.

"Where is Jen now?" she asked.

"She's in custody in containment room three. She'll be there until her trail," Alex said.

"May I see her?"

"I don't approve of this," Captain Logan said.

"If it wasn't for _this_ Jen, I wouldn't have been able to get Jen to come back with me," he turned to Jen. "You have two minutes," he said.

(*)

Jen rushed to the containment room, where the other Jen was sitting in a small cell. When she saw her other self, she stood up, walking over to the bars.

"It's you,"

"I had to come see you before I went back to my time," she said.

"The future?"

"In a manner of speaking,"

"Whats going to happen to me now?"

"I can't tell you. What I will say is that the future is safe now, and history will play out the way it was meant to,"

"Still, it was hard to leave Eric behind," she sighed.

"Where I'm from, I never would have given Eric the time of day. He isn't my type,"

"How could he _not _be? He's strong, willful, handsome, and the most kindhearted person I know," she said.

"Sounds like Wes to me,"

"You mean you love _Wes_? Now that I can't see,"

Jen chuckled. "Good luck Jennifer," she said.

"Same to you Jennifer."

Jen watched on as her other self disappeared into a stream of pink light.

(*)

"About time you showed up," Katie said as Jen transported into the science lab.

Camille stepped into the blue swirling vortex, disappearing. Katie was next to go through, leaving Tommy and Jen.

"Did you see her?" he asked.

"Yeah. It's funny how we're the same person, but yet so different at the same time," she sighed.

"You'd be surprised how decisions affect your life Jenny," Tommy said with a smile as he stepped through the portal.

_'Jenny. I kinda like that,' _she thought to herself, stepping through the portal as it shrank, until finally, it disappeared.


	6. Chapter VI: Just like old times

It was the first time since he'd accepted his new assignment that he'd been given some time off. For the last several days, he'd traveled to different dimensions, different time periods, different planes of existence, but he hadn't gotten a chance to explore the new world he was in.

His job was making it difficult to adjust to being 1000 years away from what he use to consider home, but he was making the best of it. There was still so much he didn't know about his new environment, and he was willing to experience all of it.

Anything to stop him from thinking about…..

….. her!

From the moment he met her, his feelings were conflicted. On one hand, in his heart, he felt as though he was still happily married to his wife, a warm and dedicated father who just wanted to get back to his family. On the other hand, he knew that his wife had been gone for quite a while, and that there was no going back. It hit him had after going to the cemetery; seeing her tombstone confirmed what he already knew: the life he left behind was gone. It was time for him to start a new life – in the future. He couldn't help but he attracted to Jen; there were certain qualities about her that reminded him of his wife. For a while, he considered pursuing something with Jen, but after their last mission, he realized just how against Jen was to being involved with someone she worked with.

He understood it too; he remembered how difficult it was to be a ranger, losing his concentration every time Kim called his name. He didn't want to be a distraction for Jen, but his feelings for her were a distraction to _him._

"Well, here we are," Camille said, breaking his train of thought.

He glanced up, getting a good look at the building they were standing in front of. "What is this place?" he asked her.

"Just come on, you'll love it," she insisted, grabbing him by the hand and pulling him inside.

They walked down a narrow hallway, then went through a doorway at the end of the wall. As soon as they stepped through the door, Tommy noticed ranger uniforms on display from almost every generation. He recognized the Mighty Morphin' uniforms, the Zeo, Turbo, Space, Lost Galaxy, Lightspeed Rescue, Time Force, Wild Force and Ninja Storm uniforms, but there were dozens of other's that were completely unfamiliar to him.

"It's like a shrine to the Power Rangers," he sighed, getting a good look around.

"It's an exact replica of the Temple of Light on Eltar. Very few humans have visited the Temple, so Time Force thought it was a good idea to have our own temple of sorts here," she said.

"Who are these others rangers?" he asked, gesturing to the uniforms he didn't recognize.

"There are new rangers chosen every generation, new powers are given each time. There are rangers dating back at least 10,000 years before Zordon even traveled to Earth, and long after Time Force is gone, they'll be another group of rangers ready to take our places," she explained.

"Amazing," he sighed.

"I thought you would enjoy seeing the evolution of the Power Rangers, considering you were there in the beginning as one of the first planetary rangers in 1992," she said.

"Thanks Camille, this was nice,"

"Besides, I know you wanted to get out the office for a while. It's been a stressful couple of days," she mentioned.

"Yeah, it has,"

_'Tommy, Camille. This is Captain Logan, respond,' _a voice said.

With a frustrated sigh, Camille reached for her morpher. "We're here captain, what is it?" she asked.

_'I need the two of you to report to the science lab ASAP. Trip detected something, and we may need you to check it out,' _ he said.

"On the way Captain," she sighed.

"So much for a day off," Tommy groaned.

(*)

Back in the science lab, Trip and Katie were examining a probe as Jen walked into the room, zipping up her uniform.

"What is it guys?" she asked.

"It's a probe," Trip said.

"So whats the big deal about that?"

"It's the same type probe that I sent out a few days ago as part of a test with the Slipstream Dimensional Portal," he said.

"Again, whats the big deal about that? You sent out a probe, it came back," she mentioned.

"This isn't our probe," Katie said.

"What do you mean?"

"In essence, it's ours, but the configuration is different, like its been modified. If I had to make a guess, this is a probe that came from an alternate reality," he said.

"Why would someone send a probe here?"

"The same reason Trip sent probes out a few days ago, they're trying to determine if it's safe to travel through themselves. That means that out there – someone – Time Force has perfected the Slipstream Portal and they're preparing for their first mission," Captain Logan said as he walked in the room.

"When did it get here?"

"About ten minutes ago. Trip was going over some readings when a vortex opened and this came out," Katie said.

"I don't see in the harm it in, let it run it's course. We did the same thing before we started traveling through the portal, so we should……." Jen was interrupted as another vortex began to open.

Katie, Jen and Trip stood ready as five figures stepped through the portal.

"Whoa, what a rush," one of them said.

Trip got a good look at them, only to discover that it was them, with the exception of Tommy. They were identical in every way; the only major differences were that their Time Force uniforms were predominately black with silver and white lining. Each of them wore a pair of sunglasses, but they were each different colors.

It was the other Jen who removed her pink tinted glasses, walking over to Jen. "Who are you and what the hell is going on?" she asked.

"Welcome to Time Force headquarters, kinda," she sighed.

"This can't be right, what the hell is happening here?" the other Trip asked, getting a look at his surroundings. "It looks like Time Force,"

"But it's different, everything is so…. Bright," the other Camille said.

"I think we can explain," Katie said.

The other Katie walked over to her, staring her up and down. "Oh my God, I look ridiculous with curly hair," she said.

"Hey, I like my hair,"

Just then, Camille and Tommy walked in the room, where they got their first look at the other rangers. Tommy took a step closer, completely in shock at what he saw.

"Jase?" he inquired.

The man in the red tinted glasses removed them, getting a good look at Tommy. "Tommy?" he replied, soundly equally amazed.

The two of them walked over to each other, wrapping their arms around each other. "Its good to see you man,"

"Same here bro."

"Come on Jason, that can't be the _real_ Tommy Oliver. If it were, he would have been dead hundreds of years ago," the other Jen mentioned.

Jason cautiously backed away. "What's going on?" he asked.

_'I believe I can answer that question,'_ they heard a voice say.

All of them recognized the voice as Captain Logan, even Captain Logan as he watched on in disbelief. The other Katie reached for her morpher. "What do you have for us cap?" she asked.

_'I ran a spectrographic analysis on the vortex the five of you went through. As it turns out, you're in New Silver Hills and the year is still 3000 AD,' _he said.

"But how is that possible?"

_'The portal is a gateway is not to another time, but to another reality. I've scanned their world and reviewed some the history, it is indeed Time Force,' _he told them.

"But if that's true, how is Tommy here?" Jason asked.

_'In this time line, it was Tommy who became the white ranger, later switching to the Zeo powers, then the Turbo powers. The multiple energy sources wreaked havoc on his nervous system, and during that incident with the Machine Empire in 2002, his molecules began to break down. He was put in suspended animation until a cure could be found,' _ he said.

"I find it hard to believe that Tommy was ever the White Ranger," Jason said.

Tommy took a step forward. "Are you saying on your world, _you_ were the white ranger?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Sorry Jase, no offense, but I can't see you in white spandex," Tommy said.

"In our reality, Tommy was given the white ranger powers, and Jason went to the peace conference," Trip explained.

"It is logical to assume that slight alterations in the time line could result in drastic changes in the present, and the future," the other Trip said.

"So it really is you," Jason sighed, walking over to Tommy again.

"Yeah bro, it's me."

"You look good man,"

"You too."

"This is the first time you've traveled to a different reality I take it," Jen said, walking over to the other Jen.

"Trip received a probe two days ago, and even though it had a Time Force signature, he couldn't determine where it was from or who sent it. He took it apart and discovered it had a pulse generator, and he used it to reopen the portal and send it here. Captain Logan felt whatever was on the other side of the portal could have been a risk, so we were sent here to investigate," the other Jen explained.

"How long before the portal reopens to send you home?" Camille asked.

"Exactly 18 minutes," the other Camille said.

Trip turned to Captain Logan. "Captain, with your permission, I'd like to work with the other me to help him develop the Slipstream. If there were one than one group of rangers traveling to different worlds, it could be helpful," he said.

"I don't see why not. The two of you should get to work immediately," he said.

"I agree. Trip, you and your wife work with them to perfect the Slipstream," the other Jen said.

"Wife? Did you say wife?" Trip asked.

"Of course. Camille and I are married," he paused. "Aren't the two of you?" he replied.

"No!" Trip and Camille said in unison.

"Oh, sorry," the other Camille sighed as the four of them walked over to the control system.

"Jen, I've got to ask: Are you and Alex still together in your world?" the other Jen asked.

She shook her head. "No, we went our separate ways after the mission to the year 2001 to stop Ransik," she said.

"Ransik? The mutant?"

"Yes. In our time, he escaped to the past,"

"So who'd you end up with?"

"I'm single," Jen said.

"What a shame. In my world, Alex and I have been married about a year. I'm expecting a baby in six months," she said.

"Congratulations," she said.

Jason and Tommy stood off in a corner away from the rest of them as they talked amongst themselves.

"I can't believe you're here. I thought I'd never see anyone from my own time again," Jason said.

"I know the feeling. The future is nice, but there's nothing like the good old days," he said.

"I hear you," he paused. "So you're an official member of Time Force now?"

"Yeah. My official rank is Lieutenant," Tommy said.

"They didn't offer me a rank yet, but I'm sure they'll ask me to join their special unit after they get this reality jumping thing working," he said.

"They did for me too."

"You should come with us man. It would be just like old times," Jason said.

"You mean come with you? To your reality?"

"Why not? If things have been as hard for you as they have been for me, you don't really have anything holding you here. Our lives were over a long time ago, but being here has given us a second chance. Come with me bro, and at least we'll have each other," he told him.

"I don't know if I……"

"Come on man, what's holding you here?" he paused. "Wait a sec, you've got the hots for Jen, don't you?" he asked.

"No I don't."

"Yes you do. You have that same googlie eyed look you use to have with Kim a long time ago. You like her," he said.

"And what if I do?"

"I take it you're still playing the shy and innocent Tommy role. Seriously man, its time to get over that. You don't want to look at and another 1000 years have gone by before you tell her how you feel," Jason said.

"I know, but it's complicated,"  
  


"Its never as complicated as you make it. You like her, she likes you. That's the end of it. Just go for it man," he said. "And if you're not going to take a shot, just come with me. Where I'm from, theres this mutant chick named Nadira….. shes hot," he said.

Tommy cracked a smile. "You think Nadira is hot?"

"Yeah, don't you?"

"We're ready over here," the other Jen said as she motioned to Jason and Tommy. The two of them walked over to the control panel, joining the rest of the group.

"I've given your Trip all the information you need to get the Slipstream up and running. You may want to run some tests before you try it again," Trip told them.

"Understood," the other Trip said.

Katie reached for her morpher. "Captain, we're ready over here," she said.

_'Acknowledged. The portal will open in 30 seconds,' _he said.

"I don't know about you guys, but this has been an experience," Camille said.

"Same here," the other Camille said.

"Its not too late for you to change your mind man," Jason said, quickly catching Jen's attention.

"Change your mind about what?"

"Jase wants me to go with them, back to his world," Tommy said.

"You said no, right?"

"No, I didn't." he sighed.

Jen turned to Captain Logan. "We can't just let him go, can we?" she asked.

"Technically, the idea of alternate realities are new to us, there is no rule against someone from our world going to another. If he wants to go, I can't stop him," he said.

"So whats it gonna be?" Jason asked as the vortex opened.

Not waiting for the answer, Jen, Trip, Katie and Camille headed through the portal. They all watched on as they awaited Tommy's response.

He knew that being with Jason again would help him adjust to his new world, he also knew that with the way things were going for he and Jen, they would never be together. Still, there was part of him that knew traveling to another world would only be running from the problem. 

"I can't man," he sighed.

"Suit yourself bro. Next time you're on my world, look me up!" he said, extending his hand to Tommy.

The two of them shook hands.

"You got a deal," he said as he watched Jason disappear through the portal.

(*)

Later than evening, Tommy returned to his quarters. There were still he needed time to adjust to – like how to work the lights in his apartment, but he knew that in time, he would learn everything he needed to know.

He was almost asleep when someone knocked on the door. He quickly stood up, heading over to the door.

"Jen," he stepped aside, allowing her in. "What's up?" he asked.

"I did some reading on you and Jason; he was your best friend. I don't understand why you didn't go back with him when he offered," she said.

"You wanted me to go?"

"No," she blurted out, not realizing how eager she sounded until it was too late. "Its not that, but I would have thought you'd want someone from your own time to be with," she said.

He shook his head. "I do, but I want to stick around here. Give it some time and I'll be use to the place," he said.

"Yeah, all we need is a little time," she sighed, moving a little closer to him.

Before they realized it, they were face to face.

"It'll be worth the wait," he said.

Tommy leaned down towards her, but Jen quickly backed away. "Yeah, it will. I promise," Jen said, walking out the room.


	7. Chapter VII: Adam & Eve

_'Married?' _Camille thought to herself as she walked over to her closet, reaching for her Time Force uniform.

Granted, she'd thought about the possibility of she and Trip _dating_ once in a while, but never married. For the first time in her life, there was someone who understood her work, and was able to not only have an intelligent conversation about it, but offer their own opinions. 

Her thoughts shifted to Blake, her last "relationship" as she got dressed. _'All he ever cared about was getting me in bed. He never gave a damn about my research,'_ she thought. It was one of the main reasons she stopped seeing him. She recalled the so-called ultimatum he gave her: _'I can't have you in that place risking your life everyday. Leave Time Force to be with me, or I'll leave,'_ At the time, it was a hard decision to make, but looking back, she was glad she let him go.

Ironically enough, Time Force released her a few days later.

It wasn't until recently that Time Force hired her back. Suddenly, her research was critical to the project, and they needed someone who understood the data. Trip had done an excellent job thus far, but there were a few things he'd missed.

After getting dressed, she headed out to work, but no sooner did she make it out the house and over to the car, she was greeted by Trip.

"Um, hi honey. I'm home," he said.

"Not funny," she sighed, punching him in the arm.

"Come on, there are worse things than being married to me. Besides, the two of them looked happy together," he mentioned.

"What are you doing outside my house anyway? Are you stalking me?"

He shook his head. "No, I live three blocks from here and I decided to walk to work today. Look, it's a beautiful day. Since we have to be cooped up in the stuffy science lab all day, I thought I'd enjoy the weather," he mentioned.

She took the time to look up, and it truly was a beautiful day out. The sun was shining, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and the birds were singing. "Wow, this is nice," she sighed.

"How about after work, assuming we aren't killed or trapped in another dimension or erased from existence, we could grab something to eat……. Together," he suggested as they walked.

"Wow Trip, you sure know how to sweet talk a girl, don't you?"

"Is that a yes?"

"It wasn't a no," she pointed out, cracking a smile.

"Great," he said, extending his arm to her.

She quickly obliged him, and the two of them headed to work.

(*)

"It's about time the two of you showed up," Jen said as Camille and Trip walked into the science lab together.

"Relax Jen, they were probably planning for their honeymoon," Katie joked.

Even Jen was forced to crack a smile.

"Ha ha Katie, and I'm sure you were a few minutes late while you tried to straighten your hair this morning," Camille said.

"Hey, I like my hair curly,"

"Can we just get down to business please?" Jen inquired.

"We're on it," Trip and Camille said at the same time as they hurried over to the control panel, preparing the portal for activation.

"So where are we headed today?" Tommy asked as he walked in the room.

"We won't know until we get there," she said.

"Two hours seems like more than enough time to get there, find out what you can and get back," Captain Logan told them.

"Right," Katie said, speaking for the group.

The five of them headed over to the portal as Captain Logan activated it. "Be careful. I'll contact you as soon as I know something," he told them.

One by one, the five of them stepped through the portal, disappearing.

(*)

As soon as Katie stepped through the portal, it closed behind her as the five of them tried to get a good look at their surroundings.

"What happened here?" Camille sighed.

There were a few buildings left standing, but they had been destroyed. All that was left was rubble and debris. The sky was black, no doubt from the smoke that had risen from the destruction. There were bodies scattered around, not many, but enough to make it obvious that something strange was going on.

"There was a battle, but there were no weapons," Tommy said, leaning over and checking one of the bodies. "Look at this, it looks like this poor guy had his chest ripped to shreds by…. Something," he sighed. 

"The claw markings aren't consistent with any animal I've ever seen before. From the size of these wounds, it would take a huge monster to make them," Trip added.

"Whatever did this, it happened a long time ago. These people have been dead for weeks," Jen noted.

_'I'm afraid its worse than you think rangers,' _a voice said.

Camille reached for her morpher. "What can you tell us Captain? What did this?"

_'Records on this world are a little fragmented, but from what I can tell, shortly after the mutorg incident, Time Force began to experiment with org and mutant DNA. It looks like their plan was to create a being of immense power to combat a race of beings known as the Vorhsoth that invaded Earth. Their plans to create a mutorg was successful, and the new creatures were able to defeat the Vorhsoth, but they quickly turned on their creators as well,' _he told them.

"The Vorhsoth must have been pretty powerful for Time Force to tamper with DNA like that. Are all of these Vorhsoth gone?" Jen asked.

_'The last recorded log entry doesn't give many details, only that the two mutorgs escaped from the science lab, killing several scientists in the process. A team was put together to apprehend the mutorgs, but they failed,' _he said.

"Two?" Tommy inquired.

_'Yes, they were meant to be the first of their species. Time Force nicknamed them Adam and Eve,' _he said.

"I'm guessing that _we_ were picked to apprehend them," Trip brought up.

_'With the exception of Camille, you are correct. Camille was one of the scientist involved with the project and was killed when the mutorgs escaped,' _he said.

"Are there any humans left in the city?"

_'Unknown. I'll keep checking, but that's all I know,' _he said.

"Alright guys, we have to find these things and contain them before they decide to pro-create, then we'll have three or four mutorgs on our hands," Jen said.

_'Actually, they're designed to lay anywhere between five and six dozen eggs at a time. Assuming they haven't done so yet, they will soon, and the maturation process for these creatures is quite fast. Within days, they will be fully mature and able to lay their own eggs,' _the Captain pointed out.

"The people we found have been dead for at least two weeks, which means……" she was cut short.

"Which means if we started with two, and they were able to lay six dozen eggs each, over a two week time period, there would be hundreds of them by now," Camille said.

"Thousands," Trip corrected.

"If there are humans left, we should find them and get them to safety. Camille, you, Trip and Tommy get over to the science lab and see if there's anything you can dig up on how to stop these things, something your other selves may have overlooked. Katie, we'll raid the weapons lockers and search the city for any survivors," Jen instructed.

Without a word, all of them nodded, then headed in separate directions.

(*)

"Just once I want to come to a world where everything is just fine. Why is it every world we visit has 'imminent doom' written all over it?" Katie asked as the two of them headed for the weapons lockers.

"I think sometimes we just make bad decisions; decisions that effect the long term more than we know," she said, inputting the combination for the lockers.

Within seconds, the lockers opened, and the two of them grabbed as many weapons as they could. Katie placed a leather strap over her shoulder, filling each of the pockets along the strap with weapons: knives, anything she could get her hands on. Jen, on the other hand, picked up a Photonic cannon.

"That's borderline _overkill_, ya know," Katie mentioned.

Jen switched it on. "We don't know what we're dealing me. I want to be ready," she insisted.

"Looks like you'll get the chance to test it out earlier than you thought," she said, motioning behind her.

Jen turned around, where one of the creatures were standing behind her. It had four legs, and spikes covered over 80% of its body. Its eyes seemed to glow an eerie color red, and it had long, jagged teeth. Even on all fours, it appeared to be almost 5 feet tall.

Jen aimed the cannon at her, but the creature lunged at her, knocking the cannon out her hand. The creature had Jen pinned down, but Katie grabbed it, picking it up over her head and throwing it across the room. Before it could even hit the ground, Jen picked up the cannon and shot it, burning a hole through its stomach.

The creature fell to the ground howling out in pain as Katie helped Jen back to her feet. "Still think it's overkill?" she asked. Before she could answer, the creature was back up and rushed towards Jen again, only to have Jen shoot it in the face; completely taking it's head off.

Katie glanced over at the creature, then back at the cannon. "Give me one of those," she told her.

(*)

Trip and Camille did their best to salvage what was left of the science lab, which looked to be completely destroyed. On the far wall where the Slipstream portal should have been, was only a table with some scattered equipment. 

"Seems funny not having the Slipstream here," Trip mentioned.

"Consider us lucky that these mutorg things don't have a one way ticket back our world," she pointed out.

"True," he walked over to the control panel. "A lot of the main drives are off line, and there's some damage to the secondary power supplies," he said.

"The memory core is off line as well, and it looks like all records of the mutorgs have been erased from the core," she added.

"You mean someone here didn't want to anyone else to know about the existence of the mutorgs?" Tommy inquired.

"Looks like this was suppose to be a black bag operation, but they found out they couldn't control the mutorgs," she said.

"Maybe we're going about this the wrong way," Trip walked over to a control panel across the room. "If we were going to create a mutorg, what's the first thing you'd need?" he asked.

"A mutant and an org," she said.

"You'd need to take a sample of each DNA, then infuse them in an artificial incubation chamber," he said.

"Which means that samples of the mutorg should still in the incubation logs," Tommy added.

"Exactly," they said in unison, going over to the incubation chamber.

"I don't understand," Camille sighed as she glanced over the logs.

"What is it?"

"I'm reading the test logs, and the initial test results show that the mutorgs, although would be powerful, would have small brain capacity and were proven to be uncontrollable. Why would Time Force take the risk of letting something like that loose?" she asked.

"We were desperate," they heard a voice sigh.

They turned around as Alex stumbled into the room. His uniform had been ripped to shreds as he struggled to stay on his feet. Tommy hurried over to him, helping him up.

"What happened here?" Trip asked.

"The Vorhsoth came from out of nowhere. They took over most of the city before we even had a chance to respond. There were thousands of them, and we knew Time Force wasn't equipped to deal with them. Camille opted to create a creature capable to destroying them, but the down side was that we'd be unable to control them. We came up with a Thoralon cannon, which would disrupt their nervous systems and paralyze them long enough for us to contain them, and it worked, but we weren't able to construct enough of the cannons in time. The mutorgs multiplied, tripling their numbers in a matter of days," he explained.

"A Thoralon cannon would be enough to paralyze them, but the problem is that it would take at least a day to construct one. In a days time, they would double their numbers again," Camille said.

"Besides, we're running out of time," Trip added, looking at his morpher. "We've got less than an hour before the portal opens,"

"Portal? What portal?" Alex inquired.

"We don't have time to get into it," she turned to Trip. "What if we modified the cannon to emit a Thoralon burst?"

"The modifications would only take about twenty minutes, and if we add an addition power source, it would cover a range up to a half mile in any direction," he said.

"What side effects would s burst of that size have on human DNA?"

"It would leave traces of radiation, but it can easily be treated," he said. He reached for his morpher. "Jen, this is Trip, come in,"

_'I'm here Trip. What is it?' _a voice asked.

"Camille and I are working on a Thoralon burst that should disrupt the mutorg's nervous system. That will give Time Force the time it needs to round them up and dispose of them on their own. We need you to find out where the nesting grounds are. When you do, we'll transport to you with the Thoralon burst," he explained.

_'Sounds like a plan. We only have about 45 minutes left. Is that enough time to get it done?' _she asked.

"More than enough time, but there's a problem," Camille said.

"What?"

"The burst has to be activated manually, which means someone has to stay with it," she said.

"What's so bad about that?"

"A Thoralon burst at point blank range is enough to do irreversible damage to human DNA. It would kill them," Camille told them.

"I'll do it," Alex volunteered.

"Maybe you missed the part where Camille said it would kill you," Trip said.

"I know the risks, I'll do it. Anything to get rid of the mutorgs," he said.

"Jen, we'll get to work on the burst now. Contact us when you find the nest," he told her.

_'We're on it. Jen out,' _she said.

(*)

Jen and Katie walked cautiously down the street where, as far as the eye could see, was a trail of destruction. Buildings were left in ruins, cars were turned upside down, some were on fire, and there were bodies spread throughout the street.

"Poor saps never knew what hit'em," Katie sighed.

"If you were a nest, where would be you?" she asked.

"Is that a rhetorical question?"

"It would have to be someplace warm, someplace where the mutorgs would know the eggs wouldn't be disturbed until they were ready to hatch. Someplace that……."

  
"I'm just taking a stab in the dark here, but it may be over there," she said, pointing to the only building left standing. 

They headed for the building, but a group of mutorgs jumped from out of nowhere, standing between them and the building.

_'TIME FOR, TIME FORCE,'_ they said in unison. 

They're uniforms were replaced by their ranger uniforms, and the two of them rushed towards the mutorgs. Jen blasted one of them with the cannon, knocking it into a car. On impact, the car exploded, two other mutorgs were hit with debris. Katie kicked one across the jaw, then picked up one another, throwing it into the other. They both landed on their backs, struggling to roll back over.

"That wasn't so bad," Katie said, only to have a mutorg attack her from behind, knocking her over. It slashed her across the back, and cocked back again, but Jen blasted it in the face with the cannon.

With all the mutorgs out the way, Jen tended to Katie, who had powered down and was bleeding badly. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'll live," she sighed.

"Come on, lets get in there are……" 

Katie pushed her away. "I'll just slow you down. Leave me the cannon and go. Make sure the nest in there and get the others here. I'll hold that overgrown doggies back," she said.

Jen handed her the cannon. "You're just mad you didn't pick the cannon first," she said.

"Just go," she sighed.

(*)

Jen headed inside, walking down the hallway and going into the only door that hadn't been torn off the hinges. As soon as she walked in, she saw the room was full of pod shaped eggs. She quickly reached for her morpher.

"Trip, I've got the nest. Transport here with the burstie thing now!" she insisted.

_'We need a few more minutes to calibrate it and run a few tests,'_ he said.

"There's no time for testing, get the thing here now before these eggs hatch," she ordered.

_'On the way,'_ he told her.

A few seconds later, Trip, Camille, Tommy and Alex appeared in a stream of light. Camille set a piece of equipment down in the middle of the room. "Alright. Once the button is pressed, there will be a twenty delay, then the burst will go off and blast every mutorg from here to Angel Grove," she said.

"I understand," Alex said, walking over to the machine.

"Where is Katie?" Trip asked. In the distance, they could hear the cannon firing and Katie screaming to the top of her lungs. "Nevermind," he sighed.

"She's hurt, we need to get here and get back to the transfer point before the portal opens," Jen mentioned.

"You guys go, I can take it from here," Alex sighed.

Just then, another group of mutorgs crashed through the windows, surrounding Alex. 

"We can't leave you in here with……"

"Just go," he insisted.

Jen nodded, motioning for the others to leave. The three of them raced out the building, where Katie was blasting every mutorg that came near her. Tommy leaned down, putting Katie over his shoulder and hurried away. As they ran, Jen used the cannon to shoot down any mutorgs that got in the way.

"Captain, now would be a good time for the portal," Camille said as they ran.

_'37 seconds,'_ he told them.

There was an explosion, and the shockwave was enough to knock all of them over. Tommy fell hard, and with Katie over his shoulder, it was enough to knock him unconscious on impact.

"What was that?"

"That was the end of the mutorgs," Trip said.

Jen helped Katie back to her feet while Trip and Camille picked Tommy up. Seconds later, the portal opened. Camille and Trip were the first ones to go through, carrying Tommy with them. Last were Jen and Katie, just before the portal closed.

(*) later (*)

"Will they be okay?" Jen asked as she stood in the medical bay next to Alex and Captain Logan.

"Katie's wounds will heal, and Tommy has a slight concussion, but both of them should recover in a few days," the Captain said.

"I'm interested in reading your report about Time Force's dealings with these mutorgs," Alex mentioned.

"Why?"

"One of the points of the exploration of other realities to not only to help whenever we can, but to ensure that we don't make the same mistakes. In the event that these Vorhsoth eventually come to our reality, we need……"

"… to find another way to deal with them. You didn't see the destruction those mutorgs left in their path, all the bodies it ripped apart. With all due respect sir, if you honestly think I'm going to hand over any information that may lead to our Time Force creating those things, you can go to hell," Jen said, standing firmly in her decision.

"Jennifer Scotts, I have no choice but to……" Alex was cut short.

"Respect her decision," Captain Logan said.

"But sir, we should be……"

"She's right, we didn't see what she saw. I put her in command of the Slipstream project for a reason, and it wasn't so you could come in here and overstep her authority. The mutorg experiment will not be use as a line of defense against the Vorhsoth or anything else in our reality, and any information regarding this or any other mission Commander Scott's team carries out is to be considered classified," he explained.

"Yes sir," Alex said with discontent in his voice as he walked away.

"Thank you sir, for backing me like that," Jen said.

"It was a good call. I respect your instincts," he turned to her. "You go get some rest, I'll contact you the second Katie and Tommy come around," he said.

"Thank you again sir, for everything," she said, and then walked away.


	8. Chapter VIII: The prophecy pt 1

_'I'm not doing anything wrong; I deserve to know as much as I can about history. After all, its part of the job,' _she told herself, trying to convince herself that she wasn't breaking protocol.

She would have gone through the history logs herself, but she knew it would arouse suspicions, so she came to the conclusion that Trip was better suited for the job. _'After all, hes the computer wiz,'_ she reminded herself.

Time was having it's way with her as she stared at the clock, amazed that only a few minutes had gone by since the last time she'd check. Jen tried to make herself comfortable; lying down on the couch, sitting in her favorite chair, but nothing was working. She wanted the information, she _needed_ the information, and she wouldn't be able to rest until she did.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of waiting, someone knocked on the door. She recognized the knock right away. "Come on in Trip," she said.

The door opened and Trip walked in with a folder in his hand. After closing the door behind himself, who headed for the living room, where Jen was sitting nervously. 

"I got the information you requested, but I don't understand why you'd want the history logs on Kimberly Hart," he said.

"Thanks Trip," she said, snatching the folder away from him and began to slim through it.

He remained silent as Jen glanced through the papers, stopping at a picture of Kim he'd printed from the history logs. Her facial expression didn't change in the slightest as she put the picture aside, then continued to read through the files.

"From what I could find, there isn't much about her after she went to the Pan Globals. We know that she eventually came back shortly after the Zeo rangers switched to the turbo technology, and a few months afterward, she and Tommy were engaged. After Tommy passed his powers to TJ, he and Kim married. That's as far as the logs go for her, did you want me to put together some information about their daughter?" he asked.

"Daughter?" she inquired.

"Kimberly was three months pregnant when Tommy, Wes and the other red rangers battled the Machine Empire. A day or so after the battle, Tommy's condition caught up with him, which is when TJ and Andros took him to Bio-Lab to be treated. The rest is history, kinda," he explained.

"Are you saying he didn't even know he had a daughter?" she replied.

"From what I can tell, no," Trip said.

"Thanks Trip, for everything," Jen sighed.

"You still didn't tell me what all this was about. This isn't exactly classified information, but why would you want to go over these files?" he asked her.

She closed the folder, but kept the picture out. "I wanted to see what she was like, why Tommy loved her so much," she admitted.

Trip sat down next to her. "We all see the way you look at him Jen. If you have feelings for Tommy, there's nothing wrong with exploring those feelings," he said.

"Yes there is. He still loves her, he clings to her memory. Even after 1000 years I can't compete with Kimberly. And even if I could, I'm not sure I'm ready to explore anything. I still have feelings for Wes," she told him.

"The only difference is you actually have a chance to be with Tommy, here and now. I say you take the chance before you lose it," he advised.

_'Jen, this is Captain Logan. Do you read me?'_ they heard a voice ask.

Jen reached for her morpher. "I read you Captain. What's up?"

_'Can you report to the science lab?' _he asked.

"I have Trip with me. We're on our way," she said.

(*)

Jen and Trip walked into the science lab, where Captain Logan and Camille were waiting for them.

"What's up?" Trip asked.

"Tommy and Katie are still recovering from their injuries and won't be able to join you on your next mission. Do you think that the three of you can handle it on your own?" he inquired.

"I don't see why not, as long as there aren't any mutated creatures waiting for us. I think we can handle it," Camille said.

Jen nodded. "She's right, we can do it," she said.

"The clock is set for thirty minutes this time. Just find out what you can, and then get back here in one piece. I don't need the three of you on the injured list right now," Captain Logan mentioned.

"Why only thirty minutes?"

"We've detected an energy flux in the portal. Its nothing major, but I want to get it repaired before I send the three of you out for too long," he said.

"Understood,"

Captain Logan walked over to the control panel and activated the portal. "Good luck rangers," he told them.

Jen was the first to step through the swirling vortex first, followed by Camille and Trip. Once the three of them were gone, Captain Logan deactivated the portal.

(*)

Jen stepped through the other side of the portal, getting a good look around. There was a field of some sort, full of trees and bushes. But, in the distance, there was one building standing. She put her hands over her eyes and stepped on a boulder to get a better look.

"It's a temple," she sighed.

Trip and Camille stepped through the portal as he disappeared, walking over to Jen. "This is beautiful," Camille said, admiring her surroundings.

"Whatever happened it, the entire city seems to have no technology at all. It almost looks like the ruins of a city," Trip added.

"Well, whatever is going on here, we'll find our answers in that temple over there," she said, jumping off the boulder and walking towards the temple.

The three of them only got about six feet before a group of people jumped from out the trees, each of them holding a spear. Trip quickly noticed the face paint each of them were wearing, and the small piece of fabric that covered them.

Camille reached for her morpher. _'TIME FOR, TIME……'_ Jen stopped her.

"No, we don't want to seem hostile," she said.

"Us? Hostile? We're not the ones with the long pointy things," Camille said.

Jen took a step forward, putting her arms up to show she wasn't carrying a weapon. "We mean you no harm, we only want to……." She was interrupted when they dropped their spears and bowed in front of Jen.

"The Anointed One," they said in unison, bowing at her feet.

Trip and Camille watched on in confusion, but with no more confusion than Jen, who wasn't sure how to react to them. "Get up, all of you," she said.

The four men rose to their feet, still bowing their heads slightly. "The prophecy foretold you coming. We are your humble servants," one of them said.

"But I'm not……"

"The Anointed One wishes to travel to the temple. Take us there," Camille said.

"As you wish Anointed One," another said, leading them towards the temple.

"I'm not sure that was a good idea. I'm not anointed to do anything," Jen whispered as they walked, keeping their distance from the others.

"It was the best way to save our butts and get to the temple. We're only here for another 22 minutes, so it won't happen who they think you are after we leave," she said.

"She's right. We'll find out what we can and get out of there," Trip added.

It didn't take them long to arrive at the temple, where the four men escorted them inside. Everyone Jen passed bowed in front of her, until they finally came to what looked like the main chamber. One of them men hurried over to a figure wearing a cloak, whispering something to him.

"Leave us," the cloaked figure proclaimed.

The four men rushed out the chamber, closing the doors behind them. The cloaked figure walked over to Jen, pulling back his hood. "I am Galen, Prime Minister of New Earth," he introduced.

"New Earth?"

"Yes, it is what our master calls it," he said.

"Who is the master?" Trip asked.

"He is a being of superior size and strength. He comes to us at the end of each rising and demands a sacrifice to spare our land from destruction. For years now, he has kept us at peace, but we also live in fear," he told them.

"Where is the master now?"

"No one knows for sure, but the prophecy tells that he comes from a mystical gateway between realms," he said.

"It sounds like the Slipstream portal," Trip mentioned.

Jen nodded. "You said the master comes every rising. What is a rising?" she asked.

"After the sun has set 29 times, on the 30th rising, he appears to us," Galen said.

"Once a month this master comes and forces one of these people to kill themselves in the name of preserving the peace?" Camille whispered. "That's sick."

"Your people called me the Anointed One. What does that mean?" Jen asked.

"The prophecy foretold of a chosen warrior and her two companions that would travel to our world in the same manner that the master travels, and she was deliver us from his tyranny," he said.

"I don't know what the prophecy is or who wrote it, but……." Trip was cut short.

"I'll do it. I'll help you," Jen said.

"Just as the prophecy foretold," he said proudly.

"When is the next rising?" she asked.

"Tonight, just before the sun sets, the master will appear to us," he said.

Camille looked out the window. "Looks like the sun will be setting soon, but not soon enough," she said. Trip and Jen gathered around Camille. "Prophecy or not, the portal will open again in about 12 minutes. We can't stay here," she said.

"If the master travels the same way we do, the means that hes perfected the Slipstream portal and has found a way to open a stable portal to same point. That gives him the ability to come to this world every time," Trip said.

"That means they've found a way to open the portal from _this_ side," she added.

"If we can get our hands on whatever device he has to open the portal, I may be able to modify it to work with our Slipstream, but it would take some time," he said.

"That isn't an option. When the portal opens, we have to go," Camille said.

"I'm not going," Jen said.

"What?"

"I said I'm not going. These people think I'm their Anointed One, and even if the prophecy is wrong, it's my responsibility to do whatever I can to help them. When the portal opens, the two of you go back, but I'm not leaving until the master is stopped," she explained.

(*)

Galen led them back to the field where the ceremony was supposed to take place. While Jen and Galen went over the plan, Trip contacted Captain Logan.

"She says she's not coming back with us sir," he said.

_'You know how strong willed Jennifer can be. We can't force her to come back, but I hope that when the time comes, she makes the right call,'_ he said.

"Same here sir,"

"So what can you tell us about this world?" Camille asked.

_'There are no records of this world. The last recorded document was in the 21st century, the year 2000 to be exact. The rangers at the time were Lightspeed Rescue, and they were apparently destroyed while trying to close a gateway to the Shadow World. One can only assume that darkness ruled the planet up until a few years ago when the master appeared and defeated whatever was there. Now, as the cost for peace, they have to sacrifice one of their people and hand over their wealth once a month,' _he explained.

"That's just sick. What kind of savior would want the people he saved to kill themselves?" she asked.

_'Heres where it get worse rangers. The planet itself is in grave danger. There's an instability in the core, and in a matter of two years, the planet will destroy itself,' _he said.

"How many people are here?"

"Could be anywhere from a few dozen to a few thousand," Trip said.

"Is there anyway we can bring some of the people here back to our world to save them?" she asked.

_'A process like that would take months. Besides, the portal itself couldn't take the strain, there would be an overload in the sub processors and the portal would collapse,' _the Captain said.

"Not if we had something that could take the added pressure and re-disperse it evenly through out the portal. That in itself would make the portal stronger," Trip said.

_'We've had our top science teams looking into that, but there isn't anything we can find that can take that kind of pressure. I'm sorry, but there's nothing we can do for these people, but if Jen thinks she can stop the master and ensure them peace, I support her decision,' _he said.

At that moment, a portal opened a few feet away from them. Trip got a good look at it, quickly noticing something different about it. It seemed larger, and instead of blue, there was a type of green light coming from it. Before he had a chance to examine it, another portal opened.

"Time to go Trip," Camille said.

"I won't leave Jen here," he said, walking towards her.

Jen turned around. "Just go, I can handle it," she told him.

"No, I won't let……." He was cut short as Jen pushed him, knocking him through the portal.

"Take care of him Camille," Jen said.

"Don't I always?" she commented as she went through the portal as well. It began to get smaller until finally, it disappeared.

Jen stood in front of the green swirling vortex, awaiting the master. She didn't have to wait long as a figure stepped through the portal. As soon as they came through, Jen got a good look at him.

"Oh my God," she sighed in amazement.

(*)

Trip and Camille arrived on the other side of the portal, quickly rushing over to the control panel. "We have to find a way to reopen that portal and get Jen out of there," he said.

"I'll try to reconfigure the phase alignment sequencers, we'll see what that gets us," Camille said, going over calculations.

Captain Logan and Tommy simply watched on.

"Trip," Tommy called out, trying to get his attention.

"Not now Tommy, I have to make sure these variances are in sync with one another. Camille, run a diagnostic on the flux regulators," he said.

"Already on it," she said.

"Jen knew what she was doing when she decided to stay. There's nothing we can do for her now," the Captain said.

"There's always a way," Trip snapped.

Captain Logan sighed, walking away slowly.

TBC………… 


	9. Chapter IX: The prophecy pt 2

Jen stood in front of the green swirling vortex, awaiting the master. She didn't have to wait long as a figure stepped through the portal. As soon as they came through, Jen got a good look at him.

He was in his Time Force uniform, but it was different from the uniform she was use to. This one was all black, and he wore a red shirt underneath. His hair was black, and he wore a red-tinted glasses.

"Oh my God," she sighed in amazement.

"Jen?" he inquired, getting a good look at her.

_'It looks like him, and, in a way, it probably is him, but this isn't the Lucas from your world,' _she had to remind herself. Without a second thought, she reached for her morpher. _"TIME FOR, TIME FORCE," _she called out, transforming herself into the pink ranger.

"Jen? What are you doing?" he asked.

Without a word, she charged at him, calling for her Chrono Saber. She swung at him, but he side stepped her, only to be caught with an elbow to the ribs. He stumbled back, and she aimed a sabat kick at his face, but he caught her foot in mid air. Jen spun around, driving the back of her heel into his temple, taking him down to one knee. She cocked back with her sword, but he caught the blade between his hands.

"I don't want to fight you Jen," he insisted.

"Than stand here and take it like a man," she snapped.

Lucas kicked the blade out her hand. "I don't have time for this. The portal will close in a matter of minutes and I have to get these people and the supplies back through," he said.

Jen swung, but Lucas caught her fist. In response, she kicked him between the legs, sending him to his knees, then rammed a knee in his face, knocking him over. With Lucas flat on his back, she stood over him with her sword in hand.

"I know what you're doing Lucas and I won't let you. You're forcing these people to give you all their wealth, and on top of that you demand a sacrifice from them once a month. I don't know what kind of world you come from, but I'm not letting you hurt these people again," she told him.

Lucas grabbed her, flipping her up against a tree, then got back to his feet. "Hurt them? I'm here to help them," he said.

"Save your lies, Galen told me everything," Jen said.

"Galen? You mean 'Prime Minister of New Earth'?" he inquired.

"Yeah," she said, pausing slightly.

"You have to understand Jen, this is a primitive society. They do their best to grasp the situation, but they have no idea whats going on. I've been helping these people for the last two years," he said.

His statement was enough to get her attention. She powered down, taking a step closer. "You've got two minutes Lucas, make it good,"

"Two years ago Time Force traveled to this world only to find it in ruins. Queen Banshira and her shadow warriors had taken over almost the entire planet, and it took us six months to finally trap her back in the Shadow World and seal the entrance. During her reign, she'd done something to the planet that disrupted the core itself, and in a few years time, the planet will no longer be able to support life. Trip and Alex were able to find another world for these people, but its in an unexplored dimension, making it difficult to maintain the portal. There are crystals in the caves on this world that allow us to amplify the portal and safely travel through with these people, and in exchange for relocating them to the new world, they mine the crystals for us," he explained.

"But what about the sacrifices?"

"There are no sacrifices. That was the only way they could rationalize what was happening to them. I come here once a month to gather the crystals, and one person from their tribe comes with me through the portal," Lucas said.

"So you mean you're really helping them?" she sighed.

"At least I _was,_" he said as they watched his portal close.

"Oh my God Lucas, I'm so sorry," Jen sighed.

"Don't worry, we'll be here a while. You have plenty of time to make it up to me," he told her.

(*)

"Okay, run one more diagnostic on the field converter. I'll check on the ionic matrix," Trip said, getting out his seat and walking over to another control panel.

"Diagnostic indicates the field converters are functioning 150% above normal. That should be enough," Camille told him, wiping her eyes as she yawned.

"The ionic matrix is on line too. I think we're ready," he said.

Camille headed back to the Slipstream portal and turned it on, but nothing happened. "Check the gauges, was there a system overload? Did we miss something?" she asked him.

"According to these readings, we didn't miss a thing," he said.

Just then, the doors opened as Tommy and Katie walked into the room. "You guys are still working on this?" Katie asked them.

"We have to find a way to get Jen back," she insisted.

"No, you don't. The two of you have been up all night, what you _need_ is to get some sleep," Tommy pointed out.

"We can't, not yet. Not until we find a way to save Jen," Trip said.

"Jen doesn't need saving. She knew what she was going when she mad her decision and sent the two of you back. Besides, if she were in trouble, she would have tried to contact us by now," he said.

"That's it!" Trip and Camille said in unison.

"What?"

"Everything in the universe has it's own unique signature that makes it indigenous to it's world. That's how Captain Logan has been able to contact us; he calibrates the censors to find our unique signature and uses it to send audio messages to us," he said.

"If calibrate the censors and modified it with a high intensity neuron beam, we should be able to lock onto Jen's signal and open a portal to those coordinates," she added.

Without another word, the two of them rushed over to the control panel to begin their work.

"Did you understand any of that?" Katie asked.

Tommy shook his head. "I was going to ask you the same thing," he sighed.

(*)

Jen and Lucas were in the caves as some of the local villagers were mining the crystals. Each of them had flashlights, and there were lights strung around the cave to make it easier to see.

"So, how did you find this world?" Jen asked.

"Trip invented some machine he called the Slipstream Interdimensional Portal. For a while, we just traveled to worlds at random, trying to help as many people as we could. We eventually stumbled onto a world where their technology was much more advanced than ours, and they showed us how to control the portals, allowing us to travel to the same world as many times as we want," he told her.

"My Trip speculated that you had found a way to open the portal from _this_ side," she mentioned.

"No, not yet. We've been working on it, but with no luck."

"So where are the rest of us? The other me, Katie, Alex, Tommy?" she inquired.

"Tommy? Tommy who?"

"Nevermind," she said.

"About six months ago, you, Katie and Alex went on a routine mission through the portal, but were attacked by a race of beings known as the Vorhsoth. You gave the order for us to open the portal before its scheduled time, and that threw the system out of whack. As far as we know, they're all alive…… somewhere. We have no way to track them and no way to bring them back," he said.

"So it's just you and Trip now?"

"Admiral Logan helps out as much as he can, and Nadira has been a great addition to the team," he said.

"Sounds like someone has a thing for Nadira," she mentioned.

"I would hope so, we've been married for about a year now," Lucas said.

"Wow. I knew you guys were dating, but I never would have thought……." She paused. "You'll probably never see her again, and its my fault," she sighed.

"Don't beat yourself up about it, we all know the risks when we signed up for dimensional investigations. Every time you step through the portal, part of you thinks you might never make it back," he said.

She paused. "So, why were you only able to take one villager through the portal with you?" she inquired, trying to change the subject.

"The distance from here to their new world was a little farther than the portal was designed for, which is why we need these crystals to get there. They give the portal extra power, but to send more than a few through at a time would destabilize the portal. Besides, traveling here through the portal actually makes the sitation worse. The radiation from the portal affects the core, speeding up the process," he explained.

"I wish there was something I could do the help you. If I had known what you were doing, I wouldn't have……"

"Like I said, don't beat yourself up. You couldn't have known. There have been plenty of times where I met up with myself and really wanted to help, but he wasn't what I thought he was. That's the thing with doubles, you never know how they _really_ are," he said.

"It's good to see that you're still a sweetheart," Jen said.

"Thanks,"

_'Jen, this is Camille. Do you read me?' _a voice asked.

"Camille? Alex' wife?" Lucas inquired.

Jen reached for her morpher as she headed out the cave. "I'm here Camille. Something tells me you have good news," she said.

_'Don't I always? Trip and I have found a way to lock onto your individual signature and open a portal to bring you home. Have you been able to stop the master yet?' _she asked.

"Yes and no."

_'Well, we're ready here whenever you are,' _she said.

"Stand by," she turned to Lucas. "Where is the other world you're taking these people to?" she asked.

"An alternate reality on KO-35. The conditions are similar to this world, but there is no instability," he said.

"Do you have the coordinates?"

"Yes, but I don't see……."

"Give them to me," Jen said.

"102302.6," he said.

Jen reached for her morpher again. "Camille, can you open a portal if I gave you coordinates for the location?" she asked.

_'Sure, I don't see why not,' _she said.

"I need you to open a portal to coordinates 102302.6," she said.

_'Coordinates set and locked, but I don't understand,' _she said.

"Can you open a portal _here_ that will take us to those coordinates?" she asked.

_'I could, but the strain might be too much for the portal. Those coordinates you gave me are somewhere in the KO-35 galaxy. I'd need something to amplify the signal if you wanted me to keep the portal open for longer than thirty seconds,' _she explained.

Jen turned to Lucas. "How long would it take to gather up all the villagers and get them through?" she asked.

"About twenty minutes,"

"Could you do it in fifteen?"

"If I had to," he said.

"Camille, I need the portal to stay open for at least fifteen minutes. Can you do it?" Jen asked.

_'If I couldn't than I wouldn't be the miracle worker you expect me to be. It'll take a few minutes to configure; I'll contact you when I'm ready. Camille out,' _she said.

"Get all the villagers together, we've only got one shot at this," she said.

"What are you trying to do?"

"Fulfill the prophecy," Jen said.

(*)

It took them almost ten minutes to round up all the villages in the middle of the village, all of them confused to see the Anointed One and the master working together.

"I must protest to this Anointed One. You were suppose to deliver us from the master, not aid him in his conquest," Galen mentioned.

"Relax Galen, I know what I'm doing," Jen assured him.

_'Jen, this is Trip. Can you hear me?'_ a voice asked.

"Loud and clear Trip,"

_'When the portal opens, it will be slightly bigger than the usual portal and I expect the coloration of it to be different because of the distance, but it should hold long enough to do what you have to do,'_ he said.

"Great. As soon as it's done, I need you to open one more portal to bring me home," she said.

_'We'll be ready,' _he said.

"Activate the portal," she said.

Within seconds, a vortex opened in front of them. As promised, it was much bigger than any portal she'd ever seen before, and there seemed to be a hint of red in the portal, as oppose to blue. "Listen to me everyone, you have to go through the portal. It will lead you to your new home," she said.

"What about our belongings?" a villager asked.

"Everything you need will be provided for you on the other side of the portal. This world isn't safe anymore," Lucas told them.

Some were skeptical, but reluctantly stepped into the portal. Soon, all of the villagers had gone through, except for one.

"I will not go," Galen said.

"If you stay here, you'll die," Jen said.

"This is my home, where my family was born, where I was born many risings ago. I cannot leave my home," he insisted.

Jen turned to Lucas. "Can we make him go?"

"No."

"Listen to me Galen, in a few years this world will be unable to support life and you will be killed. Besides, you're the only one on the planet left. You have to go, or die here alone," Jen said.

"Then I will die here….. in my home," he said proudly.

"Once we leave here, we won't be able to find our way back here. You'll be stuck," she said.

"I know,"

Jen reached for her morpher. "Trip, shut down the portal and open one so I can come home. There's one more thing I have to do," she said.

_'Stand by,'_ he said.

The portal got smaller and smaller until it eventually faded away, and another one opened in it's place. "Come on Lucas, let go home," Jen said.

The two of them stepped through the portal, and it vanished.

(*)

Jen and Lucas stepped through the portal, where Tommy and the others greeted them.

"We thought we would never see you again," Tommy said as he rushed over to Jen, wrapping his arms around her.

"Oh my God, its Tommy Oliver. But how did….." Lucas was cut short.

"It would take a lot of explaining," she turned to Camille. "Can you scan Lucas' morpher and get a lock on its signature?" she asked.

"I could, but why?"

"Just do it," she said.

Lucas took off his morpher, handing it to Camille, who walked over to the control panel to examine it.

"How did you and Lucas here hook up?" Katie asked.

"Lucas is the master. It's a long story," she said.

"It's good to see you again Katie," he paused. "Hey, your hair is curly on this world," Lucas pointed out.

"We're ready over here," Trip said.

Jen, Lucas and Tommy walked over to them. "Now that you have the signature, can you run a search to similar signatures?" she asked.

"Already working on it," she paused. "I found the reality the signature originated from," she paused. "There are also three signatures, but I can't tell you too much about the world they're on. All I do know is that its not the same world they originated from. Travel there at your own risk," Camille said.

"Can I get a print out of that information?" she asked.

"I thought you might ask for it, so…." She stopped as she handed the paper to Jen.

"This is all the information you need to find your friends and bring them back and for you to get home," she told him.

"Thank you Jen, for everything," Lucas said, wrapping his arms around her.

Jen gave the nod to Camille, who opened the portal.

"Good luck Lucas, and may the power protect you," Tommy said as Lucas walked through the portal.


	10. Chapter X: Differences

"You wanted to see me Jen?"

"Yes, have a seat," she paused, allowing him to get comfortable. "Listen, I know we haven't known each other for very long, and that we both have had…. _Unusual_ circumstances in our last relationships, but I don't think it would be such a bad idea if we….. um, what I mean to say it that maybe we should think about…… um, you know, maybe going out sometimes. What I mean to say is that I like you…. A lot, and I'm enjoy it is the two of us went out. You know, like on a date… just me and you," she paused. "What do you think?" she asked, awaiting a response.

"Damn Jen, that sucked!" he said.

She punched him in the arm. "Come on Lucas, it was your idea to have me practice on your. You could try to be a little more supportive," she said.

He stood up. "You're making too much out of this Jen. It's obvious that he likes you, and we know how you feel about him. If you ask him out, he won't tell you no," he assured her.

"Is it that obvious?"

"I'm surprised that Tommy hasn't picked up on it yet. There's so much sexual tension between the two of you that……."

"Whoa, I never said anything about _sexual_ tension," she mentioned.

"You didn't have to, it's written all over your face," he cracked a smile. "Among other body parts,"

"You're nasty, I don't see how Nadira puts up with you," Jen said.

"Actually, I like it," Nadira said as she walked into the room, wrapping her arms around Lucas. Jen watched as they kissed one another, giving her an unsettling feeling.

"So, how are things at Time Force these days?" he asked, turning his attention back to Jen.

"Things are interesting,"

"How's that Camille girl working out?" he inquired.

"She's been an excellent addition to the team, but there's still no replacing you," she said.

"Of course not."

_'Jen, this is Captain Logan. Respond,'_ a voice said.

"Sorry guys, duty calls," she reached for her morpher. "Right here Captain, what is it?" she asked.

_'We need you in the science lab ASAP,' _he said.

"On my way chief," she said.

"When you're done, you and Tommy should come by for dinner tonight. I'm making chili," Nadira suggested.

Jen glanced at Lucas, who motioned to her _not_ to come. He quietly grabbed his throat and pretended to choke himself.

"Maybe another time Nadira, tonight isn't good," she said.

"You're welcome whenever you're ready," she said as Jen walked out the room. As soon as Jen closed the door behind herself, Nadira turned to Lucas. "You did it again, didn't you?" she asked.

"What?"

"This," she said, grabbing her throat.

"No, of course not. There's nothing wrong with your chili, and it's an excellent substitute for battery acid," he told her.

"Whatever," Nadira sighed.

(*)

Jen walked into the science lab where Tommy, and Katie were waiting for her. She headed over to the main control panel. "What's up?" she asked.

"I gave Camille and Trip the day off, they were working around the clock trying to get you home yesterday and I thought they needed a break. Today, the three of you are on your own," the Captain mentioned.

"Nothing we can't handle," Katie said, speaking for the group.

"We've been able to use some of the data we got from Lucas and incorporate it into our systems. Now, opening the closing the portal isn't a problem, but there are still unforeseen consequences if we try to open it too soon. We've been working on a way to isolate each world with a specific coordinate, which is how we came up with these," he picked up a metal staff, handing it to Jen. "It will serve as a beacon of sorts. Just plant it somewhere on that world, and our systems will be able to get a lock on it and identify that world. That way, if we ever have to go back to that world, we'll be able to," he explained.

"Kinda like mapping out different worlds," Tommy pointed out.

"Exactly,"

"Alright guys, lets do it," Jen said.

"I've set the portal for thirty, but like I said, time isn't an issue anymore. Just contact me when you're ready," the Captain said, activating the portal.

Jen was the first to step through the portal, followed by Tommy and Katie. Soon after, the portal disappeared.

(*)

"What just happened?" she asked as she stepped through the other side of the portal only to find herself still in the science lab.

Katie and Tommy stepped through as well as the portal disappeared. "It didn't work?" Katie inquired, glancing over at Captain Logan.

"I'm not sure what went wrong. All the calculations were in place, it should have sent you _somewhere._ Anywhere but here," he turned to the control panel. "I'll go over the readings again, see if there's anything I missed," he told them.

The three of them walked over to the control panel, going over some of the readings with the Captain.

"According to the readings, it should have worked," Jen said.

"Maybe we should call Trip and see if he knows anything," Tommy suggested.

Captain Logan shook his head. "No, that kid has done his part and he needs to rest. I guess the three of you should just head home until I can figure out what we wrong. I'll contact you as soon as I know something," he told them.

(*)

Katie walked into her apartment, closing the door behind her. "Lights," she called out, and almost instantly, the lights came on.

She hung her Time Force jacket in the closet, making her way into the kitchen for a snack. Katie peeked in the refrigerator, quickly grabbing a box of cookies, then headed for the living room. No sooner than she sat on the couch did Ransik walk into the room.

"Hi honey. What are you doing home so early?" he asked her.

"There was a malfunction with the Slipstream so the Captain sent us home until he could correct it," she said, opening her box. "Cookie?" she offered.

"No thanks," he said. "So, do you have anything planned for today?" he inquired.

She shook her head. "Nope. I think I'm staying home for the day," she said.

"Oh," he sighed.

Katie quickly noticed the distress in his voice. "What is it babe? Whats wrong?" she asked him.

"Nothing, it's just that……" he was interrupted by a noise in the background.

"What was that?"

"What was what?"

"I thought I heard something," Katie said.

"I didn't hear anything,"

"It came from the other room," she stood up. "I'll check it out," she head, walking towards the back of the apartment.

Ransik cut her off. "It's nothing sweetie. I'm sure it's nothing," he insisted.

Just then, Katie glanced over Ransik's shoulder into the bedroom where she saw another woman laying in the bed. "Oh no you didn't," she sighed, dropping her box of cookies on the floor.

"Its not what you think Katie," he said.

"Oh, so you weren't cheating on me while I was working all day?" she asked.

He paused. "Okay, it is what you're thinking, but that's not the way it happened," Ransik said.

Katie took a deep breath, trying to control her emotions, but they were getting the best of her. She quickly turned to the woman. "Get out," she mumbled under her breath, but it was enough to make the woman wrap a sheet around herself and rush pass Katie on her way to the door.

"Babe? I hope you're not….."

Ransik was cut short as she pushed him, knocking him through the wall and into the kitchen. With tears in her eyes, she stepped through the hole in the wall and stared down at him. "Go with her before I do something I regret," she mumbled.

"But babe, I……"

"NOW!" she snapped.

Without another word, Ransik made it back to his feet and hurried away.

(*)

Jen opened the door to her apartment, and no sooner did she walk in did she get the feeling there was already someone there. She quietly closed the door, picking up the coat rack that stood next to the door, breaking it in half over her knee, walking through the apartment with caution. 

Her first stop was the kitchen, where she saw dirty dishes in the sink and a jar of peanut butter on the counter. She headed into the living room, where the television was on. _'I know I didn't leave the TV on all day,'_ she thought to herself.

Her last stop was the bathroom, where there were clothes all over the floor and someone in the shower. She couldn't make out who it was through the curtain, so she inched her way in slowly, ready to make her move. Jen snatched back the shower curtain and got a good look at who it was.

"Oh my God," she mumbled, dropping the piece of the coat rack.

He turned to her. "Surprise. I hope you don't mind I let myself in. The shower at my place wasn't working so I thought I'd use yours," he said.

With a tear in her eye, she cracked a smile. "Wes," she sighed, climbing into the shower and wrapping her arms around him.

"I knew you wouldn't be mad, but I didn't think you'd be this excited about it either," he said.

"Just shut up," she said, kissing him passionately.

He quickly closed the shower curtain.

(*)

Tommy walked in the science lab, where Captain Logan was still sitting in front of the control panel going over readings.

"Captain," he said, getting his attention. "I don't think the portal malfunctioned at all," he mentioned.

"Neither do I Tommy. After the three of you left, I went over some of the censor readings. As it turns out, the portal worked just fine, but apparently at the exact same moment you and your team left your world, the rangers from _this_ world went through a portal as well," he said.

"So you mean _this_ is an alternate reality?"

"For you it is," he told him.

"I thought something was strange when I went to my apartment and saw all the pictures on the wall. They were pictures, wedding pictures, of a woman I'd never seen before," he said.

"Somehow the three of you traveled her, but apparently the differences between this world and your world are so slight that none of us noticed until now," the Captain said.

"So what do we do?"

_'I can answer that one for you,' _a voice said.

Tommy reached for his morpher. "What can you tell me Captain?" he asked.

_'The only difference I can tell is that in the year 2001 when Frax tried to destroy Silver Hills, Alex told the other rangers in order to survive, they would have to return to the year 3000. In that world, they did come back and brought Wes with them. The Quantum Ranger and the Q-Rex was able to save the city and defeat Frax without help from the other rangers, and ultimately, Time Force decided to let Wes stay in the future,' _he explained.

"So Wes is here? Now?"

"Yeah, he and Jen stay in the same apartment building," the other Captain Logan said.

"Oh no. That means when _my_ Jen tries to go home, she'll be in for one hell of a surprise," Tommy said.

_'Do what you can Tommy. After you find Jen and Katie, I'll open the portal and you can come home. There's no need to stir up any unnecessary confusion in that world,'_ he said.

"Understood."

"The rangers from _my_ world aren't scheduled to return for another 45 minutes," he said.

"That gives me plenty of time to track down Katie and Jen," Tommy said, rushing out the science lab.

(*)

It was the first time she'd been able to lay in the bed next to him, resting her head on his chest as she listening to his heart beat. There were so many times when she wanted to tell him how she felt, but was afraid that by doing so, she would alter the future. 

Now that wasn't an option anymore.

There were still a lot of things she wasn't sure about. How did Wes get there in the first place? Why had things changed so drastically in so short a time? The truth was, she didn't care. All that mattered was that she was laying in the arms of the only man she ever truly loved.

_'Then why am I thinking about Tommy?' _she asked herself, unsure how to answer the question.

Wesley Collins had been the love of her life for as long as she could remember; a relationship destined to fail because of circumstances. She always thought that if not for those circumstances, the two of them would have spent the rest of their lives together. Now, she had the chance to find out.

_'Then why am I thinking about Tommy?' _she asked herself again.

"I love you Jennifer," Wes said, running his fingers through her hair.

She let out a sigh of relief. "I love you too,"

"I've never seen you so aggressive in bed before. What's gotten into you?" he asked.

She cracked a smile. "Lets just say that……."

They were cut short as someone started to bang on the door. "What the hell?" Wes inquired, getting up and wrapping his housecoat around himself.

Even before Wes made it to the door, Jen knew who it was. "Don't answer the door honey, just come back to bed," she said.

"I'll be there in a sec Jen," he walked over to the door, opening it. "Tommy, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"Is Jen here?"

"Yeah, shes in the bedroom……."

Tommy interrupted him as he rushed passed Wes and walked into the bedroom. "Jen, we have to….." he paused as he saw her laying in he bed, covering herself with a sheet. "….go," he sighed.

"Go where?"

"This isn't our world, it's an alternate reality," he said.

"I know."

"Then why did you……" he wanted to question her about what she'd done with Wes, but knew it wasn't the time or the place. Besides, part of him knew it wasn't even his business.

"I'm not going back, I'm staying here. With Wes," she told him.

"That isn't an option and you know it. In less than an hour _his_ Jen will be back, and it's going to be hard trying to explain this to her," Tommy said.

"That's her problem. This is where I want to be, I'm not going back," she said.

"What the hell is going on?" Wes asked as he walked into the room.

"I can't explain right now, but Jen has to come with me now. It's urgent," he said.

"I'm not going. Tell the others I'm sorry," she reached for her morpher, taking it off and throwing it to Tommy. "I quit," she said.

"Jen please, we have to go," he insisted.

"I think she made herself clear Tommy," Wes said firmly.

"Listen Wes, you don't understand what….."

"I understand that my girlfriend told you she wasn't going with you, and now I'm asking you to leave," he said, standing firm in his decision.

Tommy looked down at Jen's morpher, pressing a button and tossing it back to her. On instinct alone, she caught it, and then disappeared in a stream of pink light.

"What have you done?" Wes snapped.

Without a word, Tommy pressed a button on his morpher as well, disappearing in a stream of red light.

(*)

"What the hell did you do? I'm going back," Jen snapped, finding herself clinging to a sheet to cover herself in the science lab next to Tommy.

He snatched her morpher away. "We both know this is the ring thing to do Jen. We don't belong here," he said.

"This is my one shot at happiness and you ruined it for me!" she snapped at him.

"He's right Jen, this isn't where we belong," Katie said as she walked in the science lab with tears in her eyes.

"What happened to you?"

"Lets just say I found out the hard way this wasn't our world," she walked over to Jen. "We all know how you felt about Wes, but this isn't the same man you fell in love with. That Wes belongs to someone else, and sooner or later, she's going to come back to him. Do you really want to be here when the other Jen comes back and finds out you were with her boyfriend? We have to go to our own world, it's where we belong," she explained.

"I know, but….."

"No buts. This is the right thing to do," she said.

Tommy handed Jen her morpher. "Captain, this is Jen. We're ready to come home," she cried.

_'Acknowledged,' _a voice said.

Moments later, the portal opened, and Tommy was the first one to walk through it. Katie glanced over at Captain Logan. "Tell the other me I'm sorry about the wall, but Ransik deserved it," she said, walking through the portal.

Jen turned to him next. "I don't know what to say," she sighed.

"Don't say anything, I'll smooth things over with Jen and Wes," he told her.

"Thank you," she said, walking through the portal.

(*) **Later that evening** (*)

Tommy walked into his apartment, closing the door behind himself. "Lights," he called out, and instantly, the lights came on.

He headed to the living room, sitting down on the couch as he unzipped his Time Force jacket, letting out a sigh of relief. It had been a long, trying day, and he was glad to be home. Tommy glanced over at the wall, relieved to see his wedding pictures of he and Kimberly were exactly where they were suppose to be.

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

"Come in," he called, out refusing to move.

The door opened, and Jen walked in carrying a vase full of flowers. She headed into the living room, putting the vase on the table.

"Peace offering," she sighed.

"That isn't necessary," he said.

"Yes it is. I acted like an ass earlier, and I wanted to apologize for it," she said.

"You don't have to apologize for it. You love Wes, and I understand that," he said.

"Do you?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Its just that you and I….. I mean, me and you…… I mean, we've been…. You know, getting kinda close. I thought that you might be……"

"What? Jealous? Not at all," Tommy said.

"I would have if that had been you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. After all, I really like you and……."

"You do?"

She paused. "Of course I do, I just need time to sort out how I feel. Seeing Wes today didn't take things easier for me either,"

"I can imagine,"

"So what do we do now?"

Tommy stood up. "How about I ask you out on a date, then you say yes?" he suggested.

"Sounds nice," she said.

"Good. Nadira and Lucas invited me over for dinner; I thought you'd like to go with me. Nadira is making chili," Tommy said.

She smiled, wrapping her arms around him. "It's a date," she sighed.


	11. Chapter XI: Prison planet

"Good morning everyone," Katie said cheerfully as she walked into the science lab with a carrier full of coffee cups in one hand and a box of doughnuts in the other.

Trip and Camille barely noticed her as they went over calculations for the Slipstream portal, but Jen greeted her warmly with a slight wave and a smile.

"Hey Katie," she said.

"I figured since we'd be saving other dimensions from imminent doom today, the least I could do was bring us something to eat," she said, sitting the coffee and doughnuts on the table.

Jen paused. "Coffee? I thought you hated coffee," she brought up as she watched Katie take a swallow.

"We've been working pretty hard lately, and I haven't been sleeping well. I just needed a pick me up," she mentioned.

"I guess so," she walked over to the table, picking up a coffee. "Hey, you changed her hair too," she noticed.

Katie's hair was much shorter, hanging just above her shoulders, and it seemed darker than normal. Jen also noticed she had golden-blonde streaks in her hair.

"Yeah, I just thought it was time for a change, that's all," she said.

"I know we've been giving you a hard time about the curly hair, but you didn't have to go all out like that," Tommy said as he walked over to the table, reaching in the box. "Ooooh, jelly,"

"What? You guys don't like it?"

"No, that's not it at all. It's really nice, it's just…. New," Jen said.

"That's what I was going for. So, what's on the 'do to' list today?" she asked.

"Nothing just yet, the wonder twins over there say they found something wrong with the Slipstream this morning. Nothing serious they say, but it'll be a sec before they have it running again," she told her.

"Did they say what was wrong?"

"I never understand all that technical mumbo jumbo, but I did hear something about a misalignment in the phase thingie," she said.

"Yeah, phase thingies are important," Tommy said with a mouth full of doughnut.

"Where is Logan?" she inquired.

"He had a meeting with Temporal Investigations this morning. He should be here any minute now," Jen said, glancing up at the clock.

"I think we're ready over here," Camille said, getting everyone's attention.

Tommy, Katie and Jen walked over to the control panel, where Trip was making the final adjustments. "I still don't know what went wrong, it looks like someone input the wrong program sequence. That must have called the misalignment in the phase converters," he explained.

"Is everything okay now?" Jen asked.

"Yeah, everything checks out. We're ready to go here, but I want to stay behind just in case something comes up," he said.

"Understood."

"Make sure you take one of beacons so we lock coordinates on whatever world you come to after you get back. It's important that we be able to map out where we've been," he said, handing her one of the metal spikes.

The device itself was rather small, maybe two feet tall with a circular top to it. The top seemed to hum slightly, giving off some type of signal.

"We'll take care of it," she told him as they walked over to the portal.

"The portal is set to reopen in 30 minutes, that should be more than enough time to do whatever you have to do," Trip said.

"I'll try not to get too comfortable this time," Jen assured him.

Trip nodded, inputting the final sequences and activated the portal. Even after seeing the vortex open dozens of times, the sheer beauty of it was enough to make Trip crack a smile everytime.

"Alright guys, come back in one piece," he said.

One by one, Camille, Jen, Tommy and Katie walked through the portal, disappearing.

(*)

They found themselves in a room that resembled the science lab, but was much darker. The entire room seemed dirty and not very well lit. There were so signs of technology, and a damp, dingy smell in the air.

"Where the hell are we?" Camille asked.

"I don't think we're in Kansas anymore," she giggled. "I've been waiting for the chance to say that," Katie mentioned.

Before they could make a move, a door opened and the room began to fill up with people. Then again, _people_ wasn't the best term. At first glance, Jen noticed several different races of beings occupy the room. A few of them were Xybrian, others were Eltarian, and quite a few races she hadn't seen before. 

"What's going on?"

From the looks of it, there were four dozen _beings _in the room, all of them seemed to be facing the front of the room as a man walked in wearing a white coverall and a yellow construction hat. He stood on a podium, allowing him to look down at the group. "Whether you're from KO-35, Eltar, Tera Venture, Xybria or any other world, you're all here for one reason: the authorities on your respective worlds consider you a bad element, outcasts. All of you have committed a crime of some sort, and have been sentenced to spend the rest of your lives here. Whether or not you're innocent or not is not my concern. For those of you who don't know me, I am Chief Administer Riley; I am your judge, jury and executioner. There is only one rule here: you work, and you will be treated well. You defy me, or disrespect anyone in this facility, you will be exiled. From this moment on, your names aren't important, your personal beliefs or religious preferences are obsolete. I am your God, and those who don't follow my instructions will be punished," he explained to them.

"Wait, there has to be some mistake," Tommy said, fighting his way through the crowd and making his way to the front.

Riley motioned his hand slightly, and a group of guards rushed in the room, grabbing Tommy and took him away. Camille wanted to make a move, but Jen grabbed her arm, restraining her.

"He was the first of your group to be exiled. If any of you wish to follow in his footsteps, by all means do," he motioned to the guards again, who began to work their way through the crowd, taking any jewelry of any kind and putting what looked like a thin metal chain around their necks. "Any personal items you came here with; jewelry, watches, chains, pictures of family members or friend, will be confiscated and disposed of. You have no name, no identity, nothing. You _are_ nothing. The new collars you're sporting are electro magnetic tracking devices. If you enter a restricted area, the collar will send an electro magnetic pulse directly to your nervous system, killing you instantly. Once the guards have removed all unnecessary items, you will be taken to your cells until your duty shift begins. There are two shifts here: mornings and nights. There are no breaks, no rest periods. At the conclusion of your shift, you will return to your cell and a meal will be provided for you. Just remember, follow the rules and you'll be just fine," he said.

The guards walked over to Jen, snatching her morpher off her arm, replacing it with the metal collar. Katie wanted to make a move, but Jen motioned to her to stay back. The guards took their morphers and gave each of them collars, then made their way to the front of the room.

"Come with us," one of them said, leading the entire group out the room.

They headed down a long corridor, where the guard deactivated a force field, allowing them all inside. Once the last of them were through, the force filed was reactivated. They turned a corner; where there was a strip of cellblocks on either side of the room.

"Four to a cell. No more, no less," the guard said. "The bars are lined with an electro magnetic pulse as well, so I suggest you stay away from them. The pulse is shut down twice a day; once so you may start your duty shift, and again when it's over," he told them.

Jen, Katie and Camille made sure they were put in the same cell along with another woman, who appeared to be human, but had scales running down each arm, and what appeared to be spikes in her forehead. Her skin was pale, and her eyes were a yellow-ish gray.

The cell bars closed behind them, and a surge of power went through them. The guards walked down the halls one final time to make sure everything was secure, then headed back through the force field.

"What the hell are we suppose to do without our morphers?" Katie asked.

"Right now we need to figure out where we are, then worry about our morphers," Jen pointed out.

"And what about Tommy? Chief Riley said something about exile. We have to find him," Camille brought up.

"If your friend was sent to exile, you won't find him," the scaly woman said.

The three of them turned to her. "What is this place? And what is exile?" Jen asked.

"They call this place the prison planet. This is where every criminal in the galaxy is set to rot," she said.

"An entire planet dedicated to the containment of criminals? It seems like a bit much, don't you think?"

"It's a system that has worked for hundreds of years. Now with the increase in crime on the new world, even more prisoners are sent here," she said.

"If this really is where all the criminals in the galaxy are sent, even the entire planet wouldn't be enough to contain them all. What happens when the cells are full?" Camille asked.

"The cells are never full. Hundreds of prisoners are sentenced to exile everyday. There is always plenty of room here," she said.

"What is exile?"

"The prison itself is only the size of a small city, encased in a dome and cut off from the rest of the planet. Beyond the dome are unspeakable creatures, creatures that can survive in the wasteland. When a prisoner is exiled, they're sent outside the doom and left for the creatures to have their way with them. No one has ever survived exile," she told them.

"We have to save Tommy," Camille said.

Jen turned to the woman. "What's your name?" she asked.

"I am called Neesha," she said.

"Well Neesha, how do we get out of here?"

"There is no way out. Even if you were able to get out of your cell, and made it through the force field, the collars would prevent you from going any further. A transport ship comes once a week, so you've have to wait for that, but the ship is protected by the Power Rangers. No one gets on that ship without clearance, and prisoners aren't given clearance," Neesha explained.

Jen turned to Katie. "Is there anything you can do about these collars?" she asked her.

"If I had something to shield my hands from the shock, I think I could snatch it off before the pulse went off," she said.

Camille glanced around the cell, walking over to the padding on the beds. She quickly ripped two pieces of fabric off, handing them to Katie. "Is this enough?" she asked.

"Should be," Katie said, wrapping the fabric around her hands, then got a grip on the collar. She took a deep breath, and then snatched as hard as she could, breaking the collar in half. "So far so good. Now we have to concentrate on getting out this cell,"

"I've got an idea. Everyone get ready," Jen walked as closely as she could to the bars as she could. "Guards, help!" she yelled.

"What are you doing?" Neesha asked.

"You'll see. Katie, lay on the floor," she instructed.

A few moments later, the guard walked over to the cell. "What is all the yelling about prisoner?" he asked.

"One of the prisoners tried to take off the collar, I think it killed her," she said.

"And?"

"The least you can do is get her body out of here," she said.

He sighed. "Fine," he said, inputting a sequence in the control pad next to the cell. Jen did her best to memorize the pattern as the electric field shut down, and the guard opened the cell. As he leaned down to pick up Katie, she kicked him between the legs, and then grabbed him, ramming him head first into the side of the wall. The guard fell to the ground, and Katie stood up, kicking him one more time for good measure.

"Get his uniform off him. We're getting out of here," Jen said.

(*)

"How do I look?" Jen asked as she zipped up the coveralls and put on the yellow construction hat.

"It'll have to do," Camille said.

"Neesha, are you coming?" she asked.

"No," Neesha said, cowering in the corner.

"Fine. Camille, I was able to memorize the access code when the guard opened the cell. It's 0311, open as many of the cells as you can. If they have a riot to deal with, we'll be able to slip out of here undetected," she said.

"On it," she said, rushing out the cell and opening as many cells as she could.

"Katie, if you please," she said.

Katie walked over to Jen, getting a grip on the collar and snatched it off.

Soon, the halls were filled with prisoners, and the alarms went off. Camille hurried over to Katie, letting her snatch the collar off, and the three of them headed down the hallway. They stopped at the force field, and Jen used the name badge on the cover alls to deactivate it. They headed down the hallway, stopping in the room they were originally in, then rushed down the only other hallway.

Katie kicked the door in, where they saw Chief Riley examining the morphers as he sat behind his desk. "Ah, after I realized what these were and who you are, I knew you'd show up sooner or later," he said, never once looking up at them.

"Give us the morphers and we promise not to kill you," Katie said.

"You're not really in a position to make demands, are you?" he asked. Before they could move, a group of guards rushed in the room, aiming guns at the three of them. "Now, I have a deal for you: show me how these morphers work, and I'll release you," he said.

"No deal," Jen said.

"Sorry, that was the wrong answer," Riley said.

Just then, Tommy stormed in the room already in his ranger uniform, kicking the guns out the guards hands. Jen gave one of them a sabat kick, knocking him up against the wall as Katie went after Riley.

"Your times up," she said as she picked up a gun, aiming at his head.

"Katie no!" Camille said, grabbing Katie, but couldn't move her.

"He was going to kill us anyway, he deserves to die," she snapped.

"That's not your call. At ease Lt.," Jen said firmly.

"What's the matter _Chief Administer Riley_, I thought you were God. How does it feel to be on the other end, to know that I'm _your_ judge, jury and executioner?" Katie asked.

"That's enough Katie," Jen yelled.

"No, it isn't. When we leave, he'll keep doing what hes doing," she said.

"Katie, it's his job. This is a prison. The people who come here deserve to be here," Tommy pointed out as he powered down.

"Did we deserve to be here? Did he even stop to listen to what we had to say? No, he just assumed we were guilty," she mentioned.

"Our situation was different, but most of the people here _are_ guilty. Now put the gun down and walk away," Camille said.

Katie glanced down at Riley, who had remained motionless with a nervous look on his face. "Please, I didn't know. I have a family, a son," he told her.

Finally, Katie wavered, dropping the gun as she stood up, grabbing the morphers. "Trip, we're ready to go," she said.

_'Acknowledged. Stand by,'_ a voice said.

"You did the right thing Katie," Jen told her, putting her hand on her shoulder.

"Come on Katie, lets go home," Tommy sighed as he put his arm around her.

The vortex opened, and Camille was the first to go through. Tommy and Jen were next, leaving Katie alone with Riley. She looked at the portal, then at Riley as he got back to his feet. She quickly picked the gun up, aiming for his head and pulled the trigger. As Riley's body fell to the floor, Katie cracked a smile. "Your times up, bitch!" she sighed with a sinister smile on her face, then walked through the portal.

(*)

As Katie came through the portal, it got smaller, eventually disappearing.

"What happened to you guys? I tried to contact you," Trip said as he walked over to them.

"We were held up. It was some sort of prison planet, we barely got out of there," Camille told him.

"I did some research while you were gone: apparently after Tera Venture left Earth in the year 1999, they were able to colonize a new world. Six months later, another ship was sent to retrieve the remaining humans, but those with criminal records were left on Earth to fend for themselves. After a while, other worlds began to dump their criminals on Earth, and in the year 2042, it was dubbed the prison planet," he told them.

"What about the creatures? One of the inmates said something about creatures," Jen brought up.

"They weren't creatures, they were orgs. After the planet became uninhabitable, a dome was constructed around the prison. With the Earth void of natural recourses and pollution at an all time high, the orgs were able to return. Whatever the dome was made up, the orgs weren't able to penetrate it, and chose to live outside the dome," he explained.

"Well, I'm glad that's over," Tommy sighed.

"Me too," Jen glanced over at Katie, who had a drops of blood splattered on her uniform. Katie saw Jen looking at her, quickly wiping away the blood with her sleeve. "I'm going to take a shower," she said, walking out the room.

(*) **Later that evening** (*)

Jen walked into Captain Logan's office, standing in front of his desk as he was going through some paperwork. She cleared her throat, getting his attention.

"Commander Scott, you're here late," he said, noticing the time.

"Yes sir, I wanted to talk to you about Katie," she said.

"What about her?"

"She was reckless on our last mission, I'm a little concerned about her," she said.

"If you want, I'll have a talk with her before our next mission," he suggested.

"I don't think a talk will do the trick. There's something wrong with Katie, and I intend to find out what it is," she said.

"What do you suggest?"

"Until we find out what's going on, I think we should take her off the Slipstream project," Jen told him.

"Is it that serious?"

"Yes sir, I believe it is," she said.

"You're the superior office on the Slipstream project; if that's your call, I'll support it, but you better have a damn good reason for this," Logan told her.

"I'll get the bottom of it personally sir," she said, walking out the office.


	12. Chapter XII: Back from the future pt 1

It was all a bit overwhelming for him.

Being snatched away from his own time, away from his friends and family. Away from Kimberly. Then thrown a thousand years into the future; it was all so disconcerting for him. Although Alex and the others had done their best to help him adjust to his new environment, there were still things he knew would take a lot longer to get use to.

In almost every ranger incarnation he was in, he had been in control. Whether it was the original team, Zeo, or the assault he led against the Machine Empire, he was in control. He called the shots. Now, to take orders from someone else left him feeling a bit out of place. Jen was a capable leader, and she mad much more experience dealing with these types of situations, but old habits die hard, and part of him felt as though he should have been in command. For someone who was always in control of every situation, found himself unable to even control the circumstances around him. That in itself was difficult for him.

Tommy walked down the dark, deserted halls of Time Force, making his way to the science lab. The building had long since shut down for the evening, and with the exception of a few officers putting in some overtime, the building was empty. He stopped in front of a door, pressing his hand against a plate on the right hand side.

_'Identity confirmed. Welcome Tommy,'_ the computer announced, opening the doors.

As soon as he walked in, he noticed Jen sitting at the desk in front of a stack of papers. The only light in the room was the one that shined above the desk as Jen worked. He walked over to her, leaning over her shoulder.

"Research?" he inquired.

Jen flinched, quickly turning around. "Oh, Tommy. Hey," she took a deep breath. "You startled me," she said.

"Sorry,"

"I'm doing some research, trying to determine what could have happened to Katie," she said.

Tommy grabbed a chair from one of the empty stations, pulling it over to the desk and sitting down next to Jen. "What have you been able to find out?" he inquired.

"Her personnel files says her mother was human, but her father was an Ehtros demon," she said.

"Ehtros?"

"An Ehtros demon is more a spirit than anything else, unable to take corporeal form without consuming the soul of a human host and assuming control of the body. They're known for their overwhelming strength and power. Katie's father was a Time Force officer sent to track the Ehtros demon, but was killed. The demon took over his body, rewriting his DNA to suit its needs. The demon raped her mother, impregnated her. The pregnancy was too much for her mother to handle, and she died during birth. Time Force eventually realized what happened and was able to put the Ehtros demon in Chryo Genic containment, while Katie was sent to live with grandparents," she explained.

"That would explain why Katie is so strong, shes part Ehtros," he mentioned.

"Yes, but most of the DNA is dormant. If any of it were to become active, she would be even more powerful, but the DNA would begin to rewrite the rest of her DNA, eventually turning Katie into a complete demon," she said.

"Is that what you think is going on? You think Katie is turning into a demon?" he asked.

"I'm not sure. There is nothing on file that Katie has been exposed to that would animate dormant DNA, but it would explain her aggressive attitude," Jen said.

Tommy glanced over at another file, picking up the folder. "This is _my_ personnel file. Why do you have this?" he inquired, opening the file and going through it.

Jen blushed. "I was just reading up on you. You're a legend after all," she said, hoping he wouldn't hear her insincerity and push the subject.

Tommy stopped, picking up a picture of Kim. "I remember this picture. We were at the Angel Grove amusement park. I won her that bear," he mentioned, showing the picture to Jen.

"She was beautiful," she sighed.

"Wait. What's this?" he skimmed through some papers. "Kim was pregnant?" he asked, staring at the paper in amazement. "You knew about this, didn't you?"

"Yes," she admitted.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, standing up and backing away from the table.

"Because I knew you would react like this. When TJ and the others took you to Bio-Lab to be treated, Kim was already two months pregnant. She didn't tell you because we speculate she didn't even know," she explained.

"But _you_ knew, and you should have told me," he said.

"I didn't want to hurt you Tommy. Knowing Kim had a baby and knowing what you left behind only makes it harder for you to be here. You were doing so well, I didn't want to complicate things for you," she pointed out.

"Is there a picture?"

"Of the baby, no," she said.

He stared down at the picture of Kim, and then glanced up at Jen with a monotone look on his face. "We have to go back. I have to see," he told her.

"We can't Tommy, that goes against half a dozen temporal protocols. Alex would be all over us if….." she was cut short.

"I don't care. I want to see my child," Tommy said.

Jen saw the unwavering determination in his eyes, and knew she wouldn't be able to change his mind. With that, she reached for her morpher. "Trip. This is Katie, do you read me?" she asked.

For a moment, there was nothing.

_'I'm here Jen. What's up?' _a voice asked.

"I hate to bother you this late, but can you come to the science lab? I need you to do me a favor," she said.

_'I'm on my way,'_ he told her.

"Thanks Trip," she said.

"Why are you calling Trip?" Tommy asked.

"If we try to use one of the time ships, Alex and Temporal Investigations will be all over us. I'm going to see if Trip can modify the Slipstream to travel back in time," she said.

"Thank you Jen," he sighed.

"No problem,"

A few minutes later, Trip arrived wearing a pair of jeans and a baggy sweater. From the looks of it, he had been asleep, yawning as he walked in. "Okay Jen, what's going on?" he asked.

"Can the Slipstream be modified to travel back in time?" she inquired.

"The Slipstream is only a gateway between worlds, it doesn't have the circuitry to travel back and forth through time," he said.

"Can it be modified?"

"In theory, if we were to use the sight to sight transporter circuitry from the morphers, then cross align them using a phase……." He was cut short.

"Save me the scientific mumbo jumbo, can you do it?" Jen asked.

He sighed. "Yeah, I can do it," he said.

"Do it,"

Without a word, Trip walked over to the Slipstream to begin the modifications. Meanwhile, Jen and Tommy sat down behind the desk again.

"When we get there, we'll have to limit our contact with people, we don't want to risk altering the time line," she said.

"What do you mean _we_?"

"You didn't think I was letting you go alone, did you? We're friends, we're going together," she told him.

"You don't have to do this Jen. If you think I'm going to stay in the past, you don't have to worry about……"

"I said we're friends, we're going together," she repeated.

Tommy smiled. "Thanks Jen,"

"I think I'm ready over here," Trip called out. The two of them headed over to Trip as he finished the last of the modifications. "Its been rigged to travel back in time, but I had to bypass the timing sequencers to do it," he said.

"Meaning?"

"Meaning the timer that usually reminds us when the portal will reopen is off line. You'll have to keep up with the time yourself," he said.

"How long do we have?"

"Its hard to tell. The Slipstream wasn't meant to work this way. It could be a few hours; it could be a few minutes. I'll contact you when I get the calculations done," he said.

"Alright, I need you to set coordinates for Angel Grove, California. The year is 2006," Jen instructed.

Trip input the information into the computer. "Done. I get the feeling this isn't an _official_ mission," he brought up.

"It's not, so I suggest we keep this one off the books," Tommy said.

"Consider it done, but if our calculations are off even in the slightest, there is no coming back with the Slipstream. I'll have to get a time ship to get you, and I have a feeling you wanted to do it this way to avoid Temporal Investigations," he mentioned.

"Thanks again Trip," she said.

"As soon as you're through, I'm going to disconnect the modifications just in case. The communicators should work, so I'll contact you when I'm ready to bring you back," he informed them.

"Understood,"

Trip turned to the control panel, activating the Slipstream. As it came on, there was a noticeable difference. Instead of a blue swirling vortex, it seemed to be red, and it the swirls were moving counter clockwise. The two of them took a deep breath, then stepped into the vortex, disappearing.

"Good luck you two, you'll need it," he sighed.


	13. Chapter XIII: Back from the future pt 2

Disclaimer: "Gaby" is being used courtesy of Cmar, my #1 fan. 

(*)

"So what's the verdict doc?" Tommy asked, sitting up on the examining table.

There were various wires and needles embedded in his arm, all of them hooked up to machinery next to the table. The doctor walked over to the equipment to take a reading, then confirmed it with the information he had on his clipboard.

TJ, Andros and Wes stood across the room silently, hoping the doctor would have something positive to say. After their battle against the Machine Empire, all of them were prepared to go their separate ways, but TJ discovered Tommy unconscious behind the abandoned warehouse. His skin was glowing a dim shade of green, and he was covered in sweat. The three of them weren't sure what was wrong, but were convinced that a traditional doctor would be unable to help him. Instead, the opted to take him to Bio-Lab. 

Once there, they had their leading scientists and doctors examine him, hoping to find the cause of his illness. There was a point when the room was full of doctors, including Dr. Zaskins, the leading scientist in charge of the Quantum Ranger project.

"To be honest with you Mr. Oliver, we don't even know where to begin to determine how the illness occurred. Without knowing the cause, we can't even begin to fathom a cure," he said.

"But whats wrong with me?" he inquired.

"From all I can tell, you cells are being affected on a cellular level. If it persists, the damage to your cells will become irreversible. In a nutshell, whatever is happening to you will eventually kill you," he told him.

Tommy took a deep breath, trying to come to terms with the news. He quickly glanced over at Wes. "Do you think the other Time Force rangers would be able to do something?" he asked.

"I already contacted Captain Logan, he refused to help. He said it would alter the flow of time and there's nothing he can do," Wes sighed.

"So what? That's it? We're just going to let him die?" TJ protested.

"Actually, I have an alternative," the doctor brought up.

"Which is?"

"We have the technology to cryogenically freeze you, putting you in a state of suspended animation. You could left in suspension until some sort of cure can be found," he said.

"How long will that take?"

"I'm unsure. We'll take a sample of your blood and analyze it, study it, see if we can determine anything. It may take a week, it may take a month. Maybe even longer," he said.

"I need to discuss this with my wife first. See what she has to say," Tommy said, hopping off the examining table.

"If the suspension is going to work, it has to be now. Waiting any longer will allow your cells to continue to break down. If the deterioration becomes any worse, chyrogenics will no longer be a factor," he warned.

"You mean I have to make the decision _now?_" he asked.

"I'm afraid so," the doctor sighed.

Tommy walked over to TJ and the others. "I guess there is no other choice, is there guys?" he asked them.

"The people at Bio-Lab are professionals, if anyone can help, it's them," Andros told him.

Tommy turned to Wes. "I'm counting on you to get me out of this one," he said.

"You got it," Wes said, extending his hand to him.

The two of them shook.

"When they do it, I need you to go to my wife and tell her what's happened. Take care of her for me. Tell her I love her, and that I'll be home as soon as I can," he said.

"I will,"

"Thanks man," Tommy sighed.

"Alright Mr. Oliver, if you'll come with me," the doctor said, motioning for him to follow.

"Good luck Tommy, and may the power protect you," TJ said, patting him on the shoulder for luck as they watched Tommy and the doctor walk out the room.

~

"Earth to Collins. Are you in there?" he heard a voice say.

Wes quickly glanced over where he saw Eric standing next to him with a cup of coffee in his hand. "Huh? What?" he mumbled.

"You were staring off into space. You feeling okay?" he asked.

It had been four years since that day, but he still remembered it as clear as if it happened yesterday. He recalled having to go to see Kim and explain what happened, how she cried for days. At one point, she even demanded to see Tommy while to chryo status, but the sight of it was too much for her. Over the years he'd done his best to live up to his promise to Tommy, but his conscience haunted him for it. _'Always above and beyond the call of duty, huh Collins?'_ he thought to himself.

"Yeah, I good," he looked down at his watch. "I think I'm going to call it a day. Can you handle things around here?" he replied.

"Hey, I was handling things long before you decided you wanted to be 50/50 partners," he taunted. "Go ahead, I'll take care of it," he told him.

"Are we still on for tonight?"

"Of course," Eric said.

"Thanks man," he said, taking off his beret and heading towards the door.

(*)

Jen and Tommy stepped through the vortex, finding themselves behind a house. As the portal closed, they put their hands over their eyes, trying to shield them from the sun.

"Where are we?" he asked.

"Not sure, but the first thing we need to do is get some civilian clothes. We don't exactly blend in wearing our Time Force uniforms," she said.

"How? We don't have any money," he brought up.

"Do you honestly think Time Force lets us travel back and forth through time and don't prepare us for this type of situation? Come on," she said.

The two of them wandered down the street, stopping in the first gas station they came to. Everyone gave him odd looks as they walked up to the front counter.

"Can I help you?" the girl behind the counter asked.

"Do you have an ATM machine?" Jen asked.

"Oh yeah, it's in the back of the store," she told her.

"Thanks," she said, walking to the back of the store with Tommy. She glanced around, ensuring no one was around, then removed her Time Force badge and waved it against the censor device. The screen went blank, and Jen input some type of code.

"Did it work?"

Before she could respond, the machine began to spit money out. Jen caught as much of it as she could, and Tommy grabbed the rest of it, heading for the door.

(*)

She looked out the window just as the Silver Guardian truck pulled up outside the house. With a smile on her face, she headed for the front door and stepped out on the porch to greet him.

"Hi Wes," she said cheerfully, waving.

He climbed out the truck, closing the door and removing his sunglasses as he headed for the porch. As soon as he was close enough, she jumped off the porch and into his arms. Wes stumbled back to get his footing.

"Well hello to you too Kim," he said, swinging her around.

"How was work? Defend the world from the forces of evil again?" she asked.

The two of them headed into the house, stopping in the kitchen. Wes sat down at the table as she headed for the refrigerator. "I gave out some parking tickets, and I stopped a kid from J walking. Does that count?"

"Compared to mutant attacks, no. But A for effort," she said, handing him a pop.

"Thanks," he opened his pop, taking a swallow. "Where is Trinity?" he asked.

"She's over my mother's house, you know how she feels about her granddaughter. She should be home soon," she told him.

"Any plans for tonight?"

"Are you making me an offer?" Kim asked.

"Eric and Gaby are going to dinner and a movie tonight and they invited us. You interested?" he replied, taking another swallow.

She paused. "I'd love to, but I forgot I do have plans," she sighed.

"What could be more fun than a double date with me and Eric?" he asked.

"Me and a few of the others are going to visit Trini and Zach. You know, today's the anniversary of the day that……" she sighed.

"I'm so sorry. I forgot about that completely," he walked over to her, wrapping her arms around her. "You go ahead and do what you have to do. Maybe I'll stop by afterwards. You know, if you want some company," Wes said.

She responded by wrapping her arms around. "I think I just might want some company later," she said, curling up next to him.

(*)

"We need to get a room," Tommy said, walking up the front counter.

The woman behind the counter barely seemed interested as she stared up him and down. "You in the army or something?" she asked.

"Something like that,"

"I don't think I've ever seen a uniform like that. Must be air force,"

"Must be," Tommy said.

 "Do you need a single or double bed?" she asked.

He glanced back at Jen, who had a dozen shopping bags in her hand, then turned back to the woman behind the counter.

"Double,"

"That'll be 75$ a night plus a 100$ security deposit," she said. 

Tommy reached into his pocket, pulling out the money and handing it to her. In return, she handed him a key. "Thanks," he said.

"Room 411. Check out time is 12-noon everyday. If you're not out by then, I charge you for another full day," she warned.

"Got it," he walked over to Jen. "We're in room 411," he told her.

"Let's go," she said, following Tommy to the door. 

They stopped in front of a door, comparing it to the number on the key. "This is the place," he said, using the key to unlock the door.

As soon as they walked in, Jen set all the bags down at the door as Tommy turned on the lights. The room was much smaller than they expected, with wallpaper hanging off the walls. The beds were twin size at best, but didn't have any sheets on them.

"I guess this will have to do for now," she sighed.

"So what's the plan?"

"The plan to stay long enough for you to see your kid, then get out of here. I'm not sure how long we're going to be here, so we might as well make the best of it," she said.

"Right,"

"I got the bathroom first," she said, taking a few of the bags into the bathroom and closed the door. "Ewwwwwwww. There's no toilet seat," she groaned.

(*)

The sun was just beginning to set when Kim and the others arrived. It was good to see some of her old friends again, but she wished it could have been under better circumstances.

"You look really nice Kimmy," Adam said, giving her a slight hug.

"Am I late?"

"No, Rocky and I just got here. We're still waiting for Jason and Katherine," he told her.

"It's a shame Tommy won't get to be here," Rocky mentioned.

It was obvious that his statement struck a nerve with Kim, but she kept her emotions to herself. It was already a stressful situation, and she didn't want to make it worse.

"Yeah," she sighed.

"So, what's going on with you and the Silver Guardian guy?" Adam asked her.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, is it serious?"

"They've been dating for a while now. I bet it is serious," Rocky brought up. Adam responded by punching him in the arm.

"Its not serious," Kim said insincerely.

Adam and Rocky had been some of her closest friends over the years, but there were still some things she refused to tell them. After all, she wasn't fully sure what she felt for Wes to begin with. Part of her felt as though she should wait for Tommy to recover, that one day, Tommy would be home. On the other hand, it had been five years, and Bio-Lab weren't any closer to knowing what caused the illness in the first place, much less curing it.

Her thoughts were broken as a truck pulled up. The headlights blinked off as Jason and Katherine stepped out the truck, walking over to the three of them.

"Hi guys," Kat said, hugging each of them.

"It's good to see you," Jason said, kissing Kimberly warmly on the cheek.

"I just wish our reunions didn't have to be so," she paused. "Sad," she sighed.

The five of them heading silently into the cemetery, surrounding two of the tombstones. It had been a year since both Zach and Trini were killed by some….. thing. No one was very sure what happened, or even why it happened, but they all knew that it was a tragic lose of life.

From what the police reports said, they were in the park along with their son, Josh, when some sort of creature attacked him. Josh managed to stay out of harm's way, but was forced to watch his parents be murdered. Since then, Josh had gone to live with his grandparents, and every now and then, Adam and the others check up on him.

"Hi Trini," Kat got down on her knees, trying to control her emotions. "I went to see Josh yesterday. You'll be glad to know that he's just fine. He's in the first grade now, and he's doing good grades. He likes basketball, and he's got a nasty habit of jumping off the garage. He hurt his knee yesterday, but he'll be……" she sighed as her emotions got the best of her. Tears rolled down her face. Adam walked over to her, helping her up as she fell into his arms.

Rocky was next, walking over to the tombstones. "Hey Zach, what's up? Things have been okay for me here. I opened my own dojo, and it's doing pretty well," he took a deep breath. "I really wish you could have been here man, things are coming along well. I saw Josh last week too. We played basketball for a minute, he looks a lot like you," finally, Rocky's emotions got the better of him as he stood up, walking back towards the truck.

"Trini, Zach, do you remember when I was telling you about Angela? Well, it's official now, we're engaged. We'd been waiting a while to make our move, but our daughter will be five in a few weeks and we figured we weren't getting any younger. We haven't set a date yet, but we're hoping some something early next spring," Jason told them, fighting back the tears. "I miss you guys," he sighed, dropping a single red rose on Trini's grave, and then walked away.

"Sorry Tanya couldn't be here guys, but shes working late down at Z-Tech again. She promised to come by when she got off, so maybe I'll come back with her. We've been thinking about making it official too. You know, settling down, getting married. Once she gets her promotion and they make her a full partner, we'll focus more on it. She thinks she might be pregnant too. If she is, we're going to name the baby after you guys; Zach if it's a boy, Trini if it's a girl. I miss you guys, and I love you both," Adam said, taking a deep breath.

Kim turned to him. "Could you give me a sec?" she asked.

"Sure," he said, kissing her warmly on the cheek as he walked away.

"You were always the strong one Trini, and I need your strength right now. These have been some difficult times, and you were my best friend. You're suppose to be here to help me through this. Tommy is locked away in some freezer, and Wes has been real supportive of me the last few years, but now, things are different. I have feelings for him now. Is that wrong? I keep hoping Tommy will come home one day, but its been five years now, and I feel so…. Happy when I'm with Wes. I think I love him, and I need to know that's okay. I need you to be here to tell me what I'm feeling isn't wrong," she cried, falling to her knees. "Give me a sign. Something. Anything. Please Trini, I need you," she sighed.

Then it happened…….

As the sun set completely, it began to rain. Lightning filled the sky as the rain seemed to pour down on Kimberly. Adam quickly rushed over to her, putting his jacket over her. "Come on Kim, lets go," he said.

"Thank you Trini," she sighed, walking away.

(*)

"Well, how do I look?" Jen asked as she stepped out the bathroom.

Tommy, who was trying to get the television working, glanced up to look at her. Her hair was much shorter, and blonde, and she had on a pair of jeans and a pink cut off shirt. "Wow, you look so……" he paused, trying to choose his words carefully. "Wow," he said.

"I take it you like it then,"

"You take it right, but why the change?" he asked.

"Like I said, I don't know how long we're going to be here, and sooner or later, we're going to bump into Wes. I don't want him to recognize me," she brought up.

"Good point, but I don't have a disguise,"

"I took the liberty of picking you up something while we were shopping," she said, handing him a small bag.

He opened the bag. "A fake mustache? This is your idea of a disguise?" Tommy asked.

"Of course not. That's why I got you sunglasses and a hat too," she said, handing two another bag.

"This is never going to work," he sighed.

"Sure it is. First thing in the morning we'll head over to Kim's house and check on the baby. As long as we're careful, this will work," Jen told him.

"If you say so,"

"Well, its time to get some rest. You should try to relax a little too, we'll start bright and early in the morning," Jen said, laying down on one of the beds, using her Time Force jacket as a cover. Tommy, on the other hand, walked over to the window and simply stared out as it rained. Something about the rain was soothing, relaxing.

It hurt him to be so close to Kim, but not being able to go to her, to tell her that everything did work out. _'It took a little longer, but it worked,' _he thought to himself. As much as he wanted to, he knew he never could. After all, Kim had a life now, a life without him. Going to see her now would only disrupt that life. Especially if sooner or later, he'd have to go back.

That's when he made his decision……..

"I'm not going back," he sighed.


	14. Chapter XIV: Back from the future pt 3

Eric was sitting behind his desk going over readings in the computer. By his own admittance, he wasn't the most computer literate person, which is why he'd called for Gaby to help him. The words on the screen were just that to him… words. He couldn't make heads or tails of any of it. It was one of the things he regretted: not learning more about computers.

He found himself training more with the Silver Guardians, which was more than enough to keep him busy. Normally, when he did find time to do other things, the last thing he wanted to do was bury himself in a "Computers of dummies" book. Gaby, on the other hand, could take a computer apart and put it back together with her eyes closed.

The two of them met in Bio-Lab itself. Mr. Collins asked her to sit in on a staff meeting, a meeting that as co-leader of the Silver Guardians, Eric was obligated to attend. The two hit it off pretty quickly, and after a while, they were inseparable. _'That's easier said than done,'_ he thought to himself, realizing that he wasn't always the easiest person to get along with.

"You wanted to see me Eric?" she asked, peeking her head in the office door.

"Hey, that's Commander Myers when we're at work," he mentioned.

"I apologize sir," she said sarcastically. "Are you going to spank me now?"

"Maybe later. Right now, I need you to help me out with some of these readings," he said.

Gaby walked in, standing behind Eric's chair, glancing over his shoulder. "According to the readings, there was a temporal displacement some time yesterday," she said.

"A temporal what?"

"I'm not sure, but if I'm right, it could be one of the time holes that the Time Force rangers originally came through a few years back," she said.

"You're saying a time ship is here?"

"No, according to this, the displacement was much too small for an entire ship to get through. It's localized," she pushed Eric aside, going over the readings again. "Looks like the displacement originated in Angel Grove," Gaby told him.

"Maybe Wes and I should have a look. Is he here yet?" he inquired.

"I haven't seen him all morning. I think he went back to Kimberly's house last night," she paused. "The two of them are getting awful close these days," she mentioned.

"I hadn't noticed."

"What do you mean 'I hadn't noticed'? It's written all over his face. Its like Jen all over again," she said.

"You think?"

"Yeah, I do."

"I'll contact Wes. We'll go check out that displacement thing," he said, standing up.

"We on for dinner tonight?"

He stopped, standing in the doorway. "And I owe you a spanking," he said, cracking a devilish grin as he walked out the room.

(*)

Kimberly opened her eyes slowly, and no sooner than she sat up in the bed was she overwhelmed by the smell of bacon and eggs. She quickly slid into her housecoat, tying it around herself and headed into the kitchen.

"Good morning sleepy head," Wes said as he saw her walk up, then turned back towards the stove.

"What is all this?" she asked.

"Wes is making us breakfast," Trinity said as she sat at the table eating.

"Is that right?"

"That's right. Have a seat," he instructed.

As ordered, Kim sat down across from her daughter as Wes set a plate of bacon and eggs in front of her. He quickly poured her a glass of orange juice, sitting in down next to her.

"What's the occasion?" she asked.

"I just wanted to cook for my girls, that's all," Wes told her.

"Thank you. All this is nice," she said.

"Wes let me squeeze the oranges mommy," she said cheerfully.

"Really?"

"Yeah," she sighed.

"You didn't have to do all this," Kim told him.

"I know, I wanted to," he said, fixing himself a plate and sitting down on the opposite side of the table.

"You're sweet,"

"Wes told me he would take me skating tonight if it's okay with you mommy," Trinity said.

"Well I don't see why not, as long as you clean your room before I go," she said.

"I will. I promise."

"You can with us if you want mommy," Wes said, teasing her slightly.

"I don't think so. You two can go ahead and……."

_'Wes. This is Eric. Come in,'_ a voice said, interrupting them.

Wes reached for his morpher. "What is it Eric?" he asked.

'_Gaby picked up a temporal displacement somewhere in Angel Grove. I'm on my way out there now. Can you meet me?' _he asked.

"I'm in Angel Grove now. Come by Kim's house and pick me up," he told him.

'Will do. Eric out,' 

"You gotta go Wes?" Trinity asked.

"Yes baby, I do, but I'll be back in enough time to take you skating tonight. I promise," he said.

"Thanks again for the breakfast Wesley," Kim sighed.

"Anytime," he said as he stood up, kissing her on the forehead, then headed for the door.

(*)

Tommy wasn't sure which was more unbelievable: the fact that he actually put on the fake beard and mustache, or how different he looked as a result. He put on the glasses, and as much as he didn't want to admit it, he barely recognized himself in the mirror.

"How do I look?" he asked as he stepped out the bathroom.

Jen turned to him, staring him up and down. He had on a pair of black jeans and a black T-shirt, including a long sleeve shirt over it.

"You should have been the black ranger, it's really your color," she said.

"You think?"

"Yeah, it suits you," she said.

"So what's the plan?"

"We're going to go by the house, see if we can spot your kid. We'll stay as long as we can, but not for too long. The last thing we need to do is disrupt the time line," she said.

"Got it," he said insincerely. He knew if he told Jen his intentions of staying in the past, she'd start quoting temporal directives and protocols to him. He wasn't interested in the protocol; all that mattered to him was being with Kimberly again.

"You ready?"

"Yeah, let's go," Tommy sighed.

(*)

"Are you sure this is where the displacement is coming from?" Wes asked as the two of them found themselves in someone's backyard.

"According to the readings Gaby gave me, this is where the displacement thing opened," he told him.

Wes checked the grass. "I don't see any imprints from landing gear, or evidence that a time ship was here at all," he said.

"No, Gaby said something about the displacement not being big enough for a ship to come through," he brought up.

"You think someone traveled here without a ship?"

"Is that possible?"

"I don't know, but I know someone who would know," Wes said, heading back over to the truck. He opened the back of the truck, reaching for what looked like a yellow suitcase. He quickly opened it, setting up two antennas, one of either side.

A screen blinked on, and Trip appeared on the other side of the screen. "Wes? Eric? What's up guys?" he asked.

"Hey Trip," Eric mumbled, walking up behind Wes.

"I need to know if Time Force has devised a way to travel through time without a time ship," he brought up.

"Um, no. Why do you ask?"

"Come on Trip. You're holding out on me," he said.

"Sorry Wes, I don't know anything," Trip told him.

"Our computers picked up a temporal displacement, but we can't determine if it came from the   future or not," Eric said.

"I can look into it for you, but it could have been a random fluxation in the upper EM band on the Earth's atmosphere. I wouldn't worry too much about it, just recalibrate your computer's sensors to a rotation coaxial frequency of…"

"Thanks a lot Trip," Wes said, turning off the screen.

"Did you understand any of that?" he asked.

"Not a word. Head back to the office and have Gaby recheck the computer logs, see if she could have mistaken. I'm going to head back to Kim's house," Wes said.

"Gaby seems to think you and Kim are… close," he brought up.

"What do you mean?"

"Come to think of it, I haven't seen that googlie eyed look on your face since Jen first showed up five years ago. You do like Kimberly, don't you?" he asked.

He paused. "Yeah," he admitted.

"Why do you seem upset about it?" he asked.

"I just feel like I'm betraying Tommy and Jen by wanting to be involved with Kim. I promised him I'd take care of her, not _take care of her,_" Wes told him.

"It's been five years Wes. Tommy's condition is nowhere close to being treatable, and Jen isn't coming back any time soon. It's time for you to move on," Eric pointed out.

"I just don't think…"

"That's your problem Collins, you think too much. If you like the girl, go for it," he said.

"Maybe you're right,"

"I usually am. I'm going back to the office now. You know, the place we work. You might wanna show up one of these days," he said, getting in the truck.

"I'm taking a personal day, but I'll be in tomorrow," he said.

"See ya Wes," he said, pulling away.

 (*)

Tommy and Jen had taken up residency in the empty house across the street from Kimberly, setting up the surveillance equipment they needed to keep an eye on her. While Jen adjusted what appeared to be a high angle telescope which had a screen of some sort attached to it, Tommy simply stared out the window as Kimberly sat on the porch.

_'God, she's as beautiful as I remember,'_ he thought to himself.

He found it ironic that all the years they were together, neither of them were able to come forward to tell the other how they felt. They wasted a lot of time pretending to be _just friends._ It wasn't until after she returned from the Pan Globals that the two of them told each other how they felt. Tommy stepped down as the red turbo ranger, and they started their life together.

Not too soon after, they got married, both making the promise that they would never get involved with the power rangers again. They didn't resent their time as rangers, but it took away from so many other things they wanted to do. _'I knew she would up upset when I told her I had to stop the Machine Empire,'_ he recalled. As years went by, other generations of rangers were able to defend the world, but in his mind, the Machine Empire was still _his_ responsibility. He had to go. Ultimately, Kim understood, but if he had known what the outcome would have been, he never would have went. _'My being there didn't make much of a difference anyway, and it cost me my life,'_ he thought. Not his life in the literal sense, but his life with Kimberly.

To see her now, even from a distance, he had to wonder how differently things would have turned out if he hadn't gone. If he'd never gone to the moon to stop the Machine Empire, Kim would have told him about the baby. He would have accepted Rocky's offer to help him start a dojo, and he would have prepared to be with his child.

Of course, it was too late for that.

"Not if I can help," he mumbled, not even realizing he'd said it out loud until Jen looked up.

"What?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing," he sighed.

"The scope is ready if you want to come take a look," she told him.

He walked over to the telescope as Jen turned on the screen. "This is great," he said as the scope got a close up on Kim.

"Wait a second, what's that?" she asked as a truck pulled up in front of the house, blocking the view.

"I don't know, but it looks like a Silver Guardian truck," he pointed out.

"I'll adjust the scope to compensate for the truck," Jen told him.

(*)

Wes stepped out of the truck and walked towards the porch. Again, Kim jumped off the porch and into his arm, but this time, they both fell over and Kim landed on top of him.

"Hello there," he mumbled.

"I'd glad you're here, I have to talk to you about something," she said.

"Okay, but can we get up first, you're crushing my spleen," he told her.

"Oops, sorry," she sighed, standing up.

"Wait a sec, where is my baby girl?" he asked.

"Wes!" they heard a voice scream as the front door swung open and Trinity jumped off the porch, landing on Wes. This time, he purposely fell over.

"Hey sweetie," he said.

"Mommy said I could spend the night ay Grandma's house tonight," she told him.

"On a school night?"

"Yeah, she says you're staying for a night cap, so Grandma is keeping me," Trinity said. "Wes, what's a night cap?"

Wes blushed as he stood up, glancing over at Kimberly who was blushing as well. "I'll tell you about it when you're older,"

"Like when I'm 6?" she asked.

"Maybe."

"Okay," she said cheerfully.

Wes sat down on the porch next to Kim on the porch, dusting himself off. "I swear, the two of you should start a football team," he mentioned. "So what's on your mind?"

"I wanted to talk to you about……" she paused. "We've been spending a lot of time together, especially lately. When I went to see Trini last night, I….."

"How did that go?" he interrupted.

"It was okay. I had a talk with Trini, and she told me what I needed to know," she said.

"What?"

"I asked her something, and she gave me a sign. She told me it was okay," Kim said.

"What's okay?"

"This," she said, wrapping her arms around him and kissing him.

(*)

"Oh my God," Jen and Tommy said in unison as they watched on.

Both of them had ambivalent feelings about it. Jen, almost in a sense, felt betrayed by Wes. Even though it had been years since the two of them were together, so he had every right to go out with whomever he wanted… but Kimberly Hart?

"It's my fault," Tommy sighed, never taking his eyes off the screen.

"What do you mean?"

"When they took me to Bio-Lab, and they told me they couldn't cure my condition, I told Wes to take care of Kimberly for me," he said.

"You didn't tell him to put his tongue in her mouth, did you?" Jen asked.

"It was only a matter of time before the two of them got attached to one another," he paused, realizing that now, if he were to stay, it would only confuse things. Kimberly seemed happy, their daughter was beautiful, and the last thing he wanted to do was interrupt her happiness. "There's nothing for me here. We should go," he sighed.

"But we came all this way so you could….."

"There's nothing for me here," he repeated.

Jen reached for her morpher. "Trip, this is Jen. Do you read me?" she asked.

_'Loud and clear Jen,' _a voice said.

"Tommy and I are ready to come home," she said.

_'We're having a problem,'_ he said.

"What?"

_'Bio-Lab picked up the temporal displacement. Wes and Eric already contacted me and asked if I knew anything about it,'_ he said.

"You told them no, right?"

_'Yeah, but Eric has dispatched a science team to investigate the displacement. If I reopen the portal, they'll find it, and you'll be discovered,'_ he said.

"So what do you suggest we do? Stay here?" she asked.

_'You'll have to go to Bio-Lab and shut down their equipment so they won't be able to detect the displacement, then get back to the portal,'_ he said.

"You're realizing what you're asking us to do? We're bound to be discovered if we go to Bio-Lab," Tommy said.

"Maybe not. I have a plan," Jen said.


	15. Chapter XV: Back from the future pt 4

Eric walked into his office, tossing his keys on the desk as he closed the door behind himself. He'd gone out to find out what caused the temporal displacement, but had come up empty handed. It bothered him, not being able to solve a case. _'Something as simple as a damn displacement temporal thing. Come on Myers, think,'_ he told himself, sitting down behind his desk, neglecting to turn on his computer.

He went over the facts: _'This displace thing is the same as the one that brought the Time Force rangers from the future, but is too small to fit an entire ship though,' _he thought. _'Trip told us he doesn't know of any way to travel through time without the time ship, so what the hell could he be?'_ he wondered.

His thoughts were interrupted as his office door flew open and Gaby stormed in. "You didn't turn on your computer yet?" she asked.

"No," he stood up, straightening his uniform. "I don't just barge into your office without knocking, do I?" he replied.

"Sorry, but this is important," she said, hurrying behind the desk and switching on his computer.

"What is it?"

"The Silver Guardians responded to an alleged robbery at a local convenience store on 7th and Pine. The owner said that two people wearing army uniforms cleaned out his ATM machine, but when the Guardians arrived, there was on proof of any forced entry to the machine at all. We were able to retrieve the tape from the hidden camera inside the AMT machine itself to see what happened, and we saw this," she paused, turning his attention to his computer screen. The image was a bit blurred, but still clear enough to see who it was.

"Jen?" he inquired with amazement.

"That's not all, look at the person behind her on the far left," she said, pointing to the screen.

  
"Is that…." He paused. "Tommy Oliver? But how?" he asked.

"I don't know, but this explains our temporal displacement," Gaby said.

"But Trip said there was no way to travel back through time without the time ship," he mentioned.

"Think about it: If Time Force were here on a mission, they'd do their best to avoid people so they wouldn't alter the time line, right?" he nodded. "If Trip told you he didn't know anything, more than likely he was under orders from his superiors to tell you that," she explained.

"So you think Time Force is here on some top secret mission," he said.

"That has to be it,"

"Have you told Wes yet?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No, I wanted to bring it to you first. Knowing the relationship he had with Jen, it might cloud his judgment," she said.

"Good call. What else do you have for me?"

"I sent Lt. Cooper out to investigate it, I figured because of his past experiences he was the best suited for the job. He should be reporting in within the hour," she told him.

He sat back down. "You should really consider leaving your department and coming to work for me," Eric mentioned.

"Naw, I'm in good with one of the leaders of the guardians. I'd only sleep my way to the top. It wouldn't be fair to the other guardians," she said, cracking a smile.

"Nothing wrong with that. I like it when you're on top," he brought up.

"I've got to get back to my office, but we're still on for tonight, right?" she asked.

"If memory serves me right, I owe you a spanking," he said.

"Yes sir Commander Myers," she said, saluting him, then walked away with a smile on her face.

(*)

Lt. Cooper walked up to the counter, where there was a woman sitting behind the desk. As usual, she didn't seem too interested in getting up to help him.

"What can I do you for?" the lady inquired, not bothering to stand up.

"Ma'am, I'm Lt. Max Cooper of the Silver Guardians. Have either of these people checked into one of your rooms within the last 36 hours?" he asked, holding up a picture.

She glanced at the picture. "I'm not sure. Even if they had, I can't give you any personal information about any of my tenants. Its bad for business," she told him.

He paused. "You know what, you're right. I apologize for even asking you to break your confidentially rule. Thank you for your time," he turned to walk away, but stopped. "Isn't this the same hotel that was attacked by Shin Getti around this time last year?" he asked.

"Yeah, so,"

"There was a lot of damage done, but it looks like you got the place back in working order. Lord forbid that another monster attack were to happen, you'd probably have to spend thousands of dollars to get the place repaired again, not to mention waiting for the Silver Hills Safety Inspector to come out and verify that everything is up to code," he took another step. "By the way, you _did_ have the inspector come out and verify, didn't you? I'd hate to have to report you and have your business shut down again," he said, and then continued to walk away.

"Wait," she called out, standing up. "The people you're looking for, they were here. They're still in room 411, and they owe me a full days rent," she told him.

"Thank you for your help ma'am," he said, making his way towards the room.

As soon as got to the room, he knocked on the door, but there was no response. He knocked again, but got the same results. Finally, he reached for his pistol and kicked the door in.

The room itself looked barely liveable, but from the looks of it, someone had been there recently. He headed into the bathroom, where he saw a Time Force uniform hanging on the back of the door. Without a second though, he reached for his cell phone.

_'Myers,'_ a voice said on the other end.

"Commander, this is Lt. Cooper. I'm at the Silver Hill Hotel complex on Pine and 15th. I have visual confirmation of a Time Force uniform in one of the hotel rooms. There's our proof, Time Force _is_ here," he told him.

_'Good work Max. Retrieve the uniform and report to my office at once,'_ the voice said.

"Right away sir," he said, hanging up his phone.

(*)

Tommy and Jen ducked behind a bush just outside Bio-Lab, watching a Silver Guardian trucks came in and out the complex. There were guards posted at every access point, and a series of video cameras through the complex itself.

"Alright Jen, nows the time for that master plan of yours," he brought up.

"Come on," she said, watching the camera rotation. Once it was facing the opposite direction, she headed for one of the doors, waving her Time Force badge across the censor. The door opened, and the two of them ducked inside.

As soon as they got in, the elevator door at the end of the hall opened, and a group of Silver Guardians stepped off, walking down the hall. Tommy and Jen ducked into the stairwell until they passed, then rushed over to the elevator.

"If I'm right, the central control room should be on the 6th floor," Jen said.

"How do you know so much about this place?"

"Lets just say I've done my homework when it comes to this place," she said as she pressed the button, and the elevator began to move. Each of the watched as the numbers overhead went up, but stopped on the 4th floor.

The elevator doors opened, and the janitor stepped in with his mop and bucket. "Six please," he said as the doors closed.

"That's where we're headed," Tommy told him.

"You know how these execs can be about their office. They always want everything cleaned and dusted and mopped, and they want the trash taken out. They're the sloppiest execs I've ever worked for," he said.

"I can imagine," she sighed.

The elevator stopped at the 6th floor, but as soon as the elevator doors opened, Eric, who had his arms folded and his usual monotone look on his face, greeted them. "Welcome to the 21st century, again," he said coldly.

"Eric," Jen sighed.

"That's Commander Myers to you. What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I can't tell you that," she said.

"Both of you into my office, now," he insisted.

Without question, the two of them followed Eric down the hall and into his office, where he closed the blinds and locked the door behind them.

"We don't have time for this Eric," Tommy said.

"Don't have time? Jesus, don't you guys have time machines? Make the time. I want to know what's going on. Why did you rob a convenience store and shack up on the sleaziest hotel room you could find?" he asked them.

"If I tell you, it could alter the time line," Jen said.

"If you don't tell me, I'll turn you into the authorities for theft. I'm sure two Time Force officers sitting in a SHPD jail would alter the time line too," he brought up.

Tommy sighed. "We might as well tell him Jen," he said.

"No, we can't."

"What choice do we have? If we don't, it'll ruin his chances," he said.

"My chances for what?" Eric asked.

"Don't say anything Tommy," Jen insisted.

"Sorry Jen, I have to," he turned to Eric. "You know the girl you've been seeing for a while now?" he inquired.

"Gaby?"

"Yeah, today was an important day for your relationship. You've been thinking about asking her to marry you, haven't you?" he asked.

"Not really,"

"Well, you should, and today will be the turning point. The two of you are destined to be together, and your children will play an intricate part on the formation of Time Force," he told him.

"My children?"

"Yes, that's why we're here. If you don't marry Gaby within the next year, the future as we know it will crumble," Tommy explained.

"And you came all the way here to tell me that?"

"No, we weren't supposed to tell you. We were just suppose to make sure the two of you ended up together, but we were discovered," he said.

"So why are you here?"

"We need to deactivate your censors so you wouldn't be able to detect our vortex when we returned to our own time," Jen said, playing along.

"I can disable the system for a minute, but it will reboot itself and be back on line in five minutes," Eric told them.

"That's more than enough time," she said.

"Who else knows we're here?"

"Gaby knows, and Lt. Cooper. You know, the former Wild Force ranger," he said.

"It is imperative that no one else know we were here. If they did, the future could altered," Tommy reminded him.

"Is there anything else I can do?"

"We need a truck. We have to get back to the transport site," Jen said.

Just then, someone knocked on the office door. Eric rushed over to the door, peeking out, and when he realized who it was, let him in.

"Sir," Lt. Cooper said, standing at attention.

"Max, I need you to get the two of them where ever they need to go and quick," Eric instructed.

"But sir, I…."

"Just get it done," he said.

"Yes sir," he said.

"Max will get you there, I'll take care of the censors for you," Eric said.

"Thanks Eric," Jen sighed.

Eric sat back down behind his desk as the three of them headed out the office.

(*)

Then arrived at the transport site a few minutes later. Jen and Tommy quickly jumped out the truck, running around to the backyard. "Thanks Max," Jen said, waving as he pulled away.

Tommy reached for his morpher. "Trip, this is Tommy. Come in," he said.

_'Right here Tommy. What's up?' _a voice asked.

"We're at the transfere point. Get us out of here," he said.

_'Gimme a second to realign everything,'_ he said.

"I can't believe Eric bought all that crap about having to marry that Gaby girl," Jen brought up.

"I had to tell him something," he said.

"Well, it worked,"

He paused. "When we do get home, you wanna go out and get something to eat?" Tommy asked.

"Are you asking me out on a date?"

"Not really a date. I have to eat, you have to eat, I don't see any reason why the two of us can't eat together. You know, at the same place at the same time," he said.

"Sounds like a date to me,"

"Well, kinda depends on what your answer is," Tommy blushed.

Just then, the temporal vortex opened. "I don't know if I'm ready to date anyone yet, but how about we discuss it over dinner tonight? My place," she said.

"Are you asking _me_ out on a date?"

Instead of answering, Jen stepped through the portal. With a smile on his face, Tommy stepped through as well, and the portal disappeared.

~

Wes simply watched from the house next door as the portal disappeared, putting on his sunglasses to disguise the confused look in his eyes. "Goodbye Jen," he sighed, walking away.


	16. Chapter XVI: Hostile takeover

Author's note: This chapter takes place **during** "Back from the future 1-4" Power Rangers, and also contains portions from "Differences". Vexicon originally appeared in the TF episode "Future Uncertain". Time Force, Trip, Katie, Jen, Tommy and other related logos belong to Disney. Camille, Lt. CaSteel, the Slipstream portal and other related logos belong to me. Special thanks to Cmar, my #1 fan.

~~~

"What was that?" Katie asked.

"What was what?"

"I thought I heard something," 

"I didn't hear anything," Ransik said.

"It came from the other room," she stood up. "I'll check it out," she head, walking towards the back of the apartment.

Ransik cut her off. "It's nothing sweetie. I'm sure it's nothing," he insisted.

Just then, Katie glanced over Ransik's shoulder into the bedroom where she saw another woman laying in the bed. "Oh no you didn't," she sighed, dropping her box of cookies on the floor.

"Its not what you think Katie," he said.

"Oh, so you weren't cheating on me while I was working all day?" she asked.

He paused. "Okay, it is what you're thinking, but that's not the way it happened," Ransik said.

Katie took a deep breath, trying to control her emotions, but they were getting the best of her. She quickly turned to the woman. "Get out," she mumbled under her breath, but it was enough to make the woman wrap a sheet around herself and rush pass Katie on her way to the door.

"Babe? I hope you're not….."

Ransik was cut short as she pushed him, knocking him through the wall and into the kitchen. With tears in her eyes, she stepped through the hole in the wall and stared down at him. "Go with her before I do something I regret," she mumbled.

"But babe, I……"

"NOW!" she snapped.

Without another word, Ransik made it back to his feet and hurried away. Katie sat down on the couch, taking a deep breath as she tried to come to terms with what she'd seen. Tears filled her eyes as the feeling of betrayal washed over her.

"How could he? That bastard!" she snapped, not even realizing she'd said it out loud.

"Good, for a minute I thought he'd never leave," she heard a voice say.

Katie wiped her eyes and glanced towards the door where she saw _her._ The only discernable different was that her hair was much shorter, and had golden-blonde streaks in it.

"Oh my God," Katie mumbled.

"I feel the same way. I can't believe I stuck with such a crappy hairstyle for so long. You should really consider cutting that shit off," she said, sitting down next to her.

Then, it hit her like a ton of bricks. "This isn't my apartment. This is an alternate reality," Katie said.

"No shit Sherlock," the other Katie said.

"So that means Ransik _didn't_ cheat on me," she pointed out.

"Well, at least not yet. Just because you don't know about it doesn't mean he hasn't been stickin' it in anyone who'll let him. Reformed ex-mutant or not, he's a man," she told her.

Katie stood up. "I have to go. I'm sure the others have figured out what's going on are on working on a way to get us home," she said.

"On your world, you're still part of the Slipstream project?" she inquired.

"Yeah."

"They booted me off the project and took my morpher from me," she said.

"Why?"

"They said I was too aggressive, that my priorities aren't in order," she said.

"That doesn't sound like me… I mean, you at all," Katie said.

She stood up. "That's what I tried to tell them," she picked up a lamp, hitting Katie over the head with it, knocking her out. "But they just didn't listen," she sighed.

She drug Katie into the other room, closing the door behind them.

~

_'Hard to believe that I'm that stupid in any world,' _Katie thought as she stared at herself in the mirror, admiring what she had accomplished. She'd been on her new world for a few days now, and even though no one knew what had happened, they were becoming suspicious. _'Not that it matters. None of it will matter soon,'_ she thought to herself as she zipped up her Time Force uniform.

She headed for the door, but was cut off by Ransik, who had on an apron. "Don't you have time for breakfast before you go? I made waffles," he mentioned.

"Not now babe, I have to meet the counsel about being re-instated back on the Slipstream project," she said.

"Why'd they suspend you in the first place? I thought you were doing a great job," he said.

"So did I. I'll let you know what happened when I get back," she said.

"I love you dear,"

"I know," Katie said, walking out the front door.

She arrived at Time Force headquarters a few minutes later, making her way to one of the Chryo-containment rooms. As soon as she walked in, Lt. CaSteel greeted her.

"What brings you down here Katie?" he asked cheerfully.

"Well, I'm here to release some of the prisoners and take over the building," she said in a monotone voice.

Lt. CaSteel laughed. "Good one Kate," he said, but as soon as he turned around, she grabbed his head and twisted it, breaking his neck instantly.

"People on this world are stupid," she said, heading over to the containment units. She glanced through the prisoner records until she found something that interested her. She set the controls, inputting the command sequences, and moments later, the Chryo-containment chamber began to hum.

She headed over to what looked like a pod and opened the door. Smoke filled the room, but through the smoke, _he_ stepped out. It was a grey-ish silver mutant with three spikes coming out its head. Its eyes glowed an eerie yellow tone, and it had sharp, jagged teeth.

"It's been a long time Vexicon," she said devilishly.

"What's the meaning of this?" the mutant groaned.

"The meaning is you work for me now, or you go back in the freezer. The choice is yours," Katie told him.

He paused, looking at the sinister look in Katie's eyes, then back at the containment unit. "What do you command?" he asked.

"Come with me," she instructed.

 (*)

"As soon as you're through, I'm going to disconnect the modifications just in case. The communicators should work, so I'll contact you when I'm ready to bring you back," he informed them.

"Understood,"

Trip turned to the control panel, activating the Slipstream. As it came on, there was a noticeable difference. Instead of a blue swirling vortex, it seemed to be red, and it the swirls were moving counter clockwise. The two of them took a deep breath, then stepped into the vortex, disappearing.

"Good luck you two, you'll need it," he sighed.

Once the two of them were through the portal, Trip quickly disengaged it and began to disassemble the modifications. _'The last thing we need is Logan coming in and finding out what we're doing,'_ he thought to himself. There was a time when Trip would never have dreamed of purposely violating one of Time Force's protocols, but as time went on, he realized that sometimes loyalty is just as important. If not more.

The doors to the science lab slid open, and Camille walked in. "Trip," she called out.

Trip quickly heard the distress in her voice and turned around, only to see Katie holding Camille's arms behind her back and a phaser aimed at her head. "Don't go trying to play hero on me Trip. Stay out of my way, and no one gets hurt," she paused. "A lot,"

"Katie? What's going on?"

"Geez, you Xybrian's were always slow learners," she said.

Before Trip could make a move, Vexicon stormed into the lab, grabbing Trip and throwing him up against the wall. Trip hit the floor with a thud, laying motionless.

"Whatever you're trying to do Katie, we'll stop you," Camille warned her.

"Yeah right. Jen and Tommy are gone, Trip is a unconscious piece of nothing over there, Lucas is a has been who never should have been and you… well, you're not in the position to stop anything. Whos going to come to your rescue?" she asked.

"I am," they heard a voice from behind.

Katie turned her head slightly, only to get a foot across the jaw, knocking her over. Camille saw her chance, rolling out the way as a white Time Force ranger stormed in. Katie was back to her feet in a hurry, staring down on the ranger.

"Ooooh, someone new to knock around," she said, wiping the blood away from her mouth.

The white ranger hit a sabat kick, knocking her against the wall, but Vexicon made his move, grabbing the white ranger and throwing him across the room. The white ranger did a flip, landing on his feet and called for the Chrono Saber. 

_'TIME FOR, TIME FORCE,' _Camille called out as a wave of energy washed over her, transforming her into the blue ranger. 

Together, the two of them were able to hold off Vexicon, but both had forgotten about Katie, who headed over to the control panels and began inputting a new series of commands. Before she could finish, Trip was back to his feet, hitting a leg sweep that knocking Katie forward, sending her face first into the panel. She stood back up with blood dripping out of an open wound on her forehead, staring at him with evil intent.

"You'll have to do better than that you green haired freak," she taunted.

"Okay, how about this," he turned his head. "Computer, lock out all command functions. Authorization Trip Omega 6325," he called out.

_'Acknowledged. Command functions suspended,'_ the computer announced.

Katie grabbed him by his throat. "You overgrown treasure troll, what have you done?" she screamed.

"Whatever you were trying to do, forget it. Your times up," Trip told her.

"In case you haven't noticed, Vexicon over there is mopping the floor with your friends. So unless you want me to give him the signal to snap their necks like I did Roger downstairs in the containment, I suggest you unlock the computer and give me control," she ordered.

"Heres a better idea: how about you kiss my ass?" Trip taunted, hitting a judo style toss that knocked Katie up against the wall.

Katie made it back to her feet, grabbing her phaser, putting the barrel of the phaser in Camille's forehead. "I know how you feel about this one, it's the same on every world I've been to. You're crazy about her. Try to call my bluff if you want, but if that computer isn't back on in ten seconds, Cammy's brains are going to be in a neat little pile on the floor," Katie snapped.

Camille, still in her ranger uniform, tried to stand up, but Vexicon was right there just in case she tried to move. "Don't listen to her Trip, shes going to kill us anyway," she said.

"Ya know, shes right. You should listen to the bitch for once," Katie said.

"I'm not giving you the codes Katie, do your worst," Trip said, standing firm with his decision.

Before she could respond, what appeared to be a temporal vortex opened on the ceiling on the science lab. As they all glanced up, four figures fell from the vortex. "Time Force, and you're under arrest," the pink ranger said, showing her badge.

"Holy shit Jennifer, there's just no getting rid of you, is there?" Katie asked, aiming the phaser at her.

The red and blue ranger hurried over to Katie, grabbing her and knocking the weapon out her hand. As it fell to the ground, the yellow ranger picked it up, standing face to face with Katie. _'Power down,'_ she called out as the ranger uniform disappeared.

"Katie?" Trip asked.

Katie nodded, turning back to her counterpart. 

"What Katie? Trying to find something noble to say? Something like 'you left me in your world and tried to frame me for murder, but I'm back,'. Save it, all this hero shit is overrated," she said.

Katie cocked back, hitting her counterpart in the face, knocking her out on impact. "_And_ your hair looks stupid," she told her.

The pink and blue rangers powered down, revealing Jen and Lucas in their Time Force uniforms. Jen walked Trip up while Lucas arrested Vexicon.

"When we realized that Katie from our world had switched places with your Katie, we figured we'd drop by just in case she tried something stupid," Jen said.

"But why is she like that? So evil?" Camille asked.

"Katie is half Ethros, and during one of our missions, she was exposed to high levels of radiation. That was enough to animate the dormant Ethros DNA in her body, allowing her demon half to take control," Lucas explained.

"What will happen to me… I mean, her now?" Katie asked them.

It was the red ranger who stepped forward, powering down to reveal Wes. "Hopefully our doctors will be able to reverse whatever happened to her. If not, she'll be put in Chryo-containment," he explained.

"Thanks again for the assist," Trip said.

"Anytime Trip," Jen said, pulling a small device out her pocket and aimed at the floor. Another portal opened, this time on the floor. Jen nodded slightly, then jumped inside.

"See ya' around Trip," Lucas said as he put the unconscious Katie over his shoulder, going through the portal as well. Wes simply nodded slightly, then disappeared into the portal. Soon, the portal itself was gone.

"Well, it certainly has been an interesting day," Camille said, dusting herself off.

Trip walked over to the control panel. "Security, can I get a team down here to pick up an escaped mutant?" he asked.

_'Acknowledged sir,'_ a voice said.

The two of them glanced over at the white ranger as he stood up, dusting himself off. _'Power down,'_ he called out. His uniform disappeared, revealing……

"Captain Logan?" they asked in unison.

"I'm getting too old for this," he sighed, holding his back in pain.

"But how?"

"The white Chrono Morpher is still in the experimental phase. It has side effects and draw backs, which is why it's never used. But in this case, it seemed like the right thing to do," he told them.

"I never wouldda' thought you had moves like that," she said.

"You should have seen me twenty years ago," the Captain laughed.

The security team rushed in, taking Vexicon into custody, dragging him out the room.

"What was Katie trying to do anyway?" she asked.

"From what I can tell, she was trying to unlock all the Chryo containment modules at once. If she released all the mutants, there would have been anarchy," Trip said.

"Good thinking shutting out the command codes like that," Katie told him.

"If you'll excuse me, I think I'll take the rest of the day off. I'll expect an official report from all of you at 1900 hours," he said.

"Yes sir," the three of them said in unison as he walked out the room.

"If you guys don't need me here, I'm going to go home and take a shower. I suspect I have a lot of explaining to do with Ransik," she said, walking out as well.

Once everyone was gone, Camille turned to Trip. "So, you're crazy about me, huh?" she asked.

Trip blushed.


	17. Chapter XVII: Consequences

_'Trip, this is Tommy. Come in,'_ a voice said.

Trip stopped what he was doing, walking over to the control panel on the other side of the room. "Right here Tommy. What's up?"he asked.

_'We're at the transfer point. Get us out of here,'_ he said.

Trip glanced over at Camille, who had opened one of the panels to work on it. "I need a few minutes to get the targeting censors back on line," she told him.

"Gimme a second to realign everything," Trip said.

"You should have just told them what was going on, it's going to take a little longer than a second to get the Slipstream back on line," Camille pointed out, never taking her eyes off her work.

Trip headed over to the panel next to hers, going on the readings on the screen. "I'm detecting an ionic flux in the Slipstream. Can you compensate for it?" he asked.

"I'll try," she paused. "I can't bypass the flux, but it doesn't look like it will interfere with the targeting censors," she told him.

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying we can get them back, but we're going to have to shut down the Slipstream down for a while to figure out where that flux is coming from. I'll need a few hours," she said.

"Have you tried modifying the multi spectral emitter?" he asked.

"Yes. No effect,"

"Did you calibrate the new targeting sequence?"

"About ten minutes ago. Nothing," 

"Did you……"

"Trip, I've done everything I know how to do. After we bring them home, the Slipstream is going to have to come off line for a while. I'm a professional, remember?" Camille reminded him.

She didn't need to tell him, he was already aware of what she was capable of. He'd seen her work out complex calculations in her head; the same calculations that would have taken him ten minutes to work out on paper. When it came to the Slipstream, she knew just as much as he did, and that appealed to him. Most of the people he knew wouldn't know what an ionic flux was if it walked up and bit him on the nose, so to finally have someone who recognized what it was _and_ knew what it took to fix it, was enough to make him smile.

"Sorry," he sighed.

"Don't be, you were just being thorough," she mentioned.

"Thanks,"

"Anytime," Camille said.

Trip headed back over to the Slipstream. "Beginning reactivating sequence," he paused. "Now," he told him.

The blue swirling vortex appeared, but seemed to be swirling a little faster than normal. It was only a few second before Jen and Tommy came through the portal. Without a word, Trip shut down the slipstream.

"Welcome home guys," Camille said.

"Thanks. What the hell happened here? Looks like a cyclone hit in here," Jen said, glancing around the room.

The science lab was all but destroyed with holes in the walls and smashed up equipment. "Was there a fight in here?" Tommy asked.

"You can read our full report on it a little later. Right now, Camille and I need to get to work on the Slipstream. Tell Captain Logan that until further notice, the Slipstream is off line," he told them.

"Why?"

"Like he said, just read the reports," Camille said, never taking her eyes off her work.

Tommy and Jen looked at one another, back around what was left of the science lab, then headed out the main door. 

(*)

Katie sat in the conference room with a nervous look on her face. When the counsel contacted her and informed her that they wanted to speak to her, she immediately knew what it was about. _'They're going to blame me for killing CaSteel. They're going to say it was my fault,'_ she thought to herself.

Granted, she wasn't really _her_ who'd killed anyone, the figure prints, DNA scan, and video footage would give another story. All fingers would point to her, and it would probably mean the end of her career in Time Force. Maybe even a court martial. Her counterpart had done so much damage in such a short amount of time; she wondered why security wasn't waiting for her as soon as she stepped through the portal.

Her thoughts were broken as the door behind her opened, and a woman stepped in. She was in her early thirties with a short brown hair and a monotone look on her face. She seemed familiar, but Katie couldn't remember where she'd seen her before.

"Hello," Katie whispered, waving slightly.

The woman didn't respond.

Shortly after, three figures stepped into the room, making their way to a podium that seemed to be elevated over the rest of the room. Because of hoods and cloaks, it was impossible to see their faces, but Katie knew exactly who they were.

"Rise," one of the figures said. Katie and the woman stood up in respect.

"You may be seated," another said, allowing Katie and the woman to sit back down.

"Kathryn, do you know why you have been called here?" the third asked.

"I believe so your honor,"

"Time Force has documented proof that you were responsible for the death of Lt. Roger CaSteel. Video surveillance systems recorded you viciously murdering him in cold blood, releasing a convicted criminal and attempting to overthrow the science lab. The counsel has no choice but to sentence you to……"

Katie stood back up. "With all due respect your honors, it wasn't me. Well, it _was_ me, but not the me you think," she told them.

"You dare question us Kathryn?" one of the figures called out in a firmer tone.

"I'm innocent. The person responsible for Roger's death _was_ me, but was a Katie from a parallel universe. On my last mission, I was knocked out and my counterpart took my place," she explained, not realizing how bizarre it sounded until she heard herself say it.

"She's trying to get out of her sentencing. Chyro containment isn't good enough for her, my family and I want the death penalty for her," the woman snapped.

Katie turned to her. "Who are you?"

"Her name is Cynthia CaSteel, she was Lt. CaSteel's wife," one of the figures said.

"Oh my God. I am so sorry for your lose," she sighed.

"Save it. You killed my husband in cold blood and now you're trying to apologize to me for it? Go to hell," the yelled.

Katie turned back to the counsel. "Your honors, surely you're aware of the project I've been assigned to. My unit and I work with the Slipstream Interdimensional Portal; it's our job to travel to different worlds everyday. Commander Scott and Captain Logan can verify everything I'm telling you," Katie told them.

"We are aware of the work you do Kathryn. We know of the slipstream, and we know your counterpart was responsible for the murder, but our laws constitute that you be punished for your counterpart's actions," the figure said.

"You mean you believe her?" Cynthia asked.

"She speaks the truth, but justice demands that she be held accountable for her actions," the last figure said.

"But I didn't do anything," Katie sighed.

"Kathryn, you will be placed in containment until 0900 tomorrow morning where you will be sentenced to death," the figure said.

Cynthia sighed.

(*)

"It's incidents like this one that proves that Jen cannot handle a project the magnitude of the Slipstream project. While she was gone, Time Force itself could have been destroyed and she wouldn't have had a clue," Alex snapped, sitting in front of Captain Logan's desk.

The captain leaned back in his chair. "I understand your concern Alex, but Jen is more than capable. Have you read some of their reports on the worlds they've traveled to? Jen and her team have done an excellent job ever since this project started," he told him.

"Yes sir I have read the reports. From what I've seen, she attempted to remain in an alternate time line to be with Wes, violated temporal directives by moving the population of an entire planet to a new world without consent of the counsel, allowed a convicted criminal from another world to travel here and attempt to take over Time Force, not to mention……" he was cut short as Jen walked into the room.

"Nice to know you still think so highly of me commander," she said.

"This has nothing to do with what I think of you personally. This is strictly a professional opinion. You aren't equipped to deal with a project this size," he said, standing up and standing face to face with her.

"And why is that?"

"Because where you go, anarchy follows. I'm surprised the project itself hasn't fallen apart under your command," he said.

"Oh, I guess you're much more qualified than I am, right _Alexander_?" she snapped.

"As a matter of fact I am, _Jennifer,_" he answered.

"This has nothing to do with how qualified either of us are. This is about you. You're the head of Temporal Investigations, the single most important branch in Time Force. You're responsible for protecting the time line and preserving the peace, but when the time line was being altered, you found yourself ill equipped to deal with it. Who was it that had to clean up after you? Me. Now the Slipstream project is the single most important branch in Time Force, and not only does it burn you up that they didn't offer you the head of the project, they didn't even incorporate you into the loop when it came to the project. You're pissed off because you went from one of the most respected men in Time Force to 'just another guy', and it eats you alive that the person _you_ trained was given such a huge responsibility. Oh yeah, not to mention that the counsel saw fit to take the Chrono morphers from you and assign them to my unit. It worries you doesn't Alex, that any day now the counsel may cut the finding for your branch and you'll find yourself working in containment," Jen told him.

"You little……" he was cut short.

"That's enough, both of you," the captain stood up. "Commander Collins, your concerns have been noted and officially put into internal documents, but in my opinion, there is no one is Time Force more qualified to head up this project than Commander Scott," he explained.

"But sir, I think that……"

"That will be all Alex," Captain Logan told him.

With a frustrated look on his face, Alex stormed out the door. Jen quickly closed the door behind him, sitting down in front of the Captain's desk.

"You know you're in some serious shit, don't you?" he asked her.

"Sir?"

"Trip did his best to cover up you and Tommy's little adventure to the 21st century, but as a result the modifications he made have been fused into the slipstream. He doesn't know what the long terms effects will be, but he's sure the slipstream will never be the same again," he told her.

"I had no idea sir,"

"You _should_ have. I put you in command of this unit because I thought you were responsible enough to not use the slipstream for your own personal benefit," he mentioned.

"I am sir,"

"Then explain why you and Tommy went to the past to spy on Kimberly Hart? Explain why the time line shifted as soon as you returned. Did you know history was altered as a result of your little excursion to the past?"

"No sir, I didn't. How was the time line affected?"

"I'm not in a position to disclose that information to you. Jen, you screwed up. Bad. You're the most qualified person for this position, but the next time you disobey direct orders like that, I'll have your ass giving out parking tickets for the rest of your career," he snapped.

"I understand sir,"

"Dismissed," he said.

Without a word Jen stood up, making her way out the office.

(*)

Ransik knocked on the door, unsure of what to expect. After Camille informed him of what happened to Katie, he couldn't think of anything else to do. Going to the counsel wasn't going to help, they're laws were absolute. There was simply right and wrong, no sense of in-between. He thought of going to Jen and Tommy, but it wasn't much they could have done either.

There was only one person who could help……

"Can I help you?" a woman asked as she opened the door.

"Yes ma'am. I'm Ransik, from Time Force. I was hoping you have a few moments on your time," he said sincerely.

"Come on it," she said, inviting him in.

He walked in, closing the door behind himself, and then followed her into the living room, sitting down across from her on the couch.

"First of all, let me offer my condolences to you and your family on your lose Mrs. CaSteel," he told her.

"Thank you,"

"Do you recognize me ma'am?" he asked.

"I'm afraid I don't"

"I'm Ransik. Not too long ago, I was a mutant. In the present, I killed hundreds of innocent killed and destroyed half of the city in an attempt to take over. In the past, I altered the time line and tried to take over the entire future. I brutally assaulted anyone; men, women, children, anyone who got in my way. It wasn't until my daughter was injured that I realized the error of my ways, and I turned myself in. When I returned to the present, I was sentenced to life imprisonment, but I was released early so I could assist the rangers," he stopped there, not wanting to tell her too much. "My mutant half was destroyed in an explosion, and now I'm allowed to lead a normal life," he explained.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because the law stated that I was suppose to be in containment the rest of my life, but because of unforeseen circumstances, I was given another chance," he said.

"What do you want from me?"

"Katie isn't responsible for Roger's death. This is a unforeseen circumstance, and you should take that into consideration before they give my friend the death penalty," he told her.

"Its out of my hands now, the counsel……"

"I am well aware of how the judicial system works: when someone is murdered, the counsel asks immediately family what punishment they feel is fitting. You asked for the death penalty, even though you _know_ Katie wasn't responsible. You can save Katie, you can stop this," he explained.

"Why would I want to? Because of her my husband is dead. I have no interest in saving her," Cynthia snapped.

"Because of her the city – the world – has been saved more times than I can count. She risked her life everyday to help others and never asks for anything in return. If she is sentenced to death, it will be a slap in the face to everything shes ever done to help anyone… including Roger. I beg you ma'am, you can stop this, you can save her life. I hope that when the time comes, you do the right thing," he said as he stood up, heading for the front door.

"Why do you care so much about her?" she asked as Ransik stepped out the door.

He stopped, turning around. "Because when I needed her, she saved me. Despite everything I'd ever done to her and her friends, she gave me a chance," he told her, walking away.

Cynthia sighed.

**TBC**……..


	18. Chapter XVIII: Choices

_'Shes right you about, you know? This isn't about how capable she is, its about how you got left out the loop,'_ he thought to himself as he sat behind his desk, putting on his deeply tinted sunglasses to disguise his frustration.

He'd been at the forefront of the most important division in Time Force for years. Temporal Investigations has the hub of the organization, responsible for the safely of not only the past, but also the present and the future. He was at the head of the division, making decisions that affected the lives of the entire city. _'Hell, the world,'_ he thought. He was given the Chrono Morphers, the most state of the art ranger technology known to mankind. 

Then it was all taken away from him…….

In one brief instance, everything that made him who he was was taken away from him. Suddenly, Temporal Investigations wasn't at the forefront. Suddenly, his role in the company wasn't as highly regarded as it once was. TI had been reduced to just another branch of the department, being replaced by the Slipstream project as the single most important division. And who did they find to head the division?

Jennifer Scott.

It wasn't so much that he believed she wasn't qualified, or even deserved the position; it bothered him that no one even thought to offer him the position. The Chrono morphers were taken from him and given to Jen's team, the counsel saw fit to transfer both Trip and Katie to the Slipstream project, leaving him with a handful of rookies fresh out the academy.

_'I've saved the known universe more times than I care to remember, why am I being treated like a first year cadet?'_ he asked himself as he sat behind his desk, trying to give the appearance of going over some papers. The truth was, he didn't know what the papers said or nor did he care.

Just then, his thoughts were broken as someone knocked on his office door. "You got a sec boss?" a voice asked.

He glanced up and saw a young man standing in the doorway wearing a Time Force uniform. "What's on your mind Patrick?" he inquired.

Ensign Patrick Harris had been assigned to his unit after the counsel transferred Trip and Katie out of TI. He'd only recently graduated from the academy and was lucky enough to get assigned to TI and had done everything he could to prove he belonged there. _'So much drive, so much determination; he reminds me a lot of Jen in her rookie year,'_ he thought.

"Have you heard about Katie?"

"No. What about her?" he asked.

"The counsel has sentenced her to the death penalty at 0900 hours," the ensign told him.

"What?" he leaped up, glancing over at the clock. "That's in two hours?" he mentioned.

"I thought you'd want to know,"

"Thanks Harris," he said, rushing out the office.

(*)

"Alright Cammy, run a level four diagnostic on the Slipstream and watch the field emitters for overloads," Trip instructed, never taking his eyes off the panel.

It was something about the way Trip threw himself into his work that Camille loved about him. He was like that with everything he did, and she admired that. Trip gave 100% every time, never willing to settle for anything. Her last boyfriend didn't have half the drive Trip had. _'That bastard wouldn't know commitment if I wrote it on his forehead,'_ she thought to herself. He never seemed to care about much of anything, much less her work. It made her smile to know that someone not only respected her for her work, but understood it.

Camille headed over to the control panel and input a sequence of commands, then turned back to Trip. "The diagnostic is underway, but the targeting censors still seemed to be misaligned," she brought up.

"Any theories?"

"Just one: when you modified the slipstream to travel through time, the overload must have fused the modifications in the slipstream's targeting array," she said.

"If that's right, that means that we won't be able to control when or where the vortex will end up," he added.

"So we'd be traveling to different times in different realities," she concluded.

"Things are confusing enough in these alternate worlds, the last thing we need is to travel back and forth through time too," Trip said.

"This could be a major breakthrough in time travel technology. If we could find a way to repair the targeting censors, the slipstream could revolutionize the way Time Force travels through time," she mentioned.

"The key word is _if._ Even if we got the foremost scientists in Time Force to work on it, it would take years," he said.

"Come on Trip, those losers couldn't wrap their closed minds around the concept of the Slipstream if they wanted to. As far as I'm concerned, _you're _the leading scientist in Time Force," she said.

He blushed. "I couldn't do it without you," he said, taking a step towards her.

"You mean that?"

"Of course I do. This place would fall apart without you,"

"No. You're the one that holds everything together," Camille said, moving closer.

"Really?"

"Yes really," she said.

Then it happened……

The two of them moved closer to one another as he wrapped his arms around her. She leaned in to kiss him when……

"Trip. Camille. Have you heard about Katie?" a voice asked.

They stepped away from one another and turned around to see Alex with a look of discontent on his face. Even through the glasses it was obvious he was upset.

"If you mean the whole 'oooh look at me, I'm an evil counterpart who wants to take over the world' thing; yeah, we know," Camille said.

"No, not that. The counsel has sentenced her to the death penalty at 0900 hours," he said.

"What?" they asked in unison.

"They're blaming her for Roger's death," he said.

"But how? They know it wasn't her," Trip said.

"Roger's wife is demanding the death penalty, even though she knows it wasn't really Katie," Alex told them.

"What can we do?"

"Can we appeal the decision?" Camille asked.

He shook his head. "I don't think so. The rules are very clear on this one: if someone is murdered, the counsel asks immediately family what they feel is appropriate punishment. Mrs. CaSteel asked for the death penalty," he said.

"There has to be something we can do to stop this," he said.

"There is," they heard a voice say.

The three of them turned around to see Tommy walk in the room with a book in his hand. From the looks of it, he'd been awake for hours.

"What do you have?"

"When I heard about Katie, I decided to read over some of the laws and guidelines for not only Time Force, but New Silver Hills. I came up with a few interesting things," he put the book down on the table, pointing to a paragraph. "It says here that immediate family is asked for what they feel is appropriate punishment, but if it is just cause to dispute that, a trial will be held," he said.

Alex shook his head again. "No good. The counsel has already made it clear that they're aware that it was Katie's double, but because there are no laws pertaining to alternate realities, they have to follow the laws here – in our world," he told them.

"There has to be something we…"

"Wait, I have something," Camille said.

"What is it?"

"It says here that if two or more members of immediate family disagree on what they feel is appropriate punishment, the case is taken to court and a judge will determine sentencing," she said.

"Still no good. Even if we could find another member of Roger's immediate family to dispute it, the courts would convict her of murder and sentence her to death," Alex said.

"So are you saying there isn't anything we can do?"

"Looks like it," Trip sighed.

"Come on guys, Katie is one of us. We can't give up on her," Tommy told them.

Alex paused. "He's right. What we need to do is get a hold of Roger's personnel file, see if there's anything in there that can help us," he said.

"I'll take care of that," Camille said, rushing out the room.

"Next we should see if there is any other immediate members of Roger's family, see if we can get them to disagree with Cynthia's decision," Trip said.

"I'll do that," Tommy said, walking out the room.

"I'll go talk to the counsel, try to make them understand that Katie is innocent," Alex said, walking out the lab as well.

(*)

It hurt Jen to see Katie locked behind a force field, knowing that she was innocent. There had been times when it was her job to arrest people that she wasn't convinced was guilty, but she had to remain impartial. In her heart she knew that Katie hadn't done a thing, but wasn't in a position to do anything about it.

It was Captain Logan's punishment for Jen; guarding Katie until her sentencing. Although Katie was stronger than most people, it was safe to assume that she wasn't going to fight her way out a force field, so guarding her was simply a way of punishing Jen.

_'They want to see if I'll give in to my personal feelings, or if I'll do my job,'_ she thought to herself.

She stared at Katie, who hadn't moved since she was locked away. Her face was devoid of all emotion, as if Katie had shut them off the avoid dealing with her situation.

"I'm sorry Katie," she sighed.

"I know," she mumbled, remaining motionless.

"I wish I could help, but…"

"There's nothing you can do Jen. We take chances every time we go through that damn portal. We never know where we're going to end up, or what's waiting for us on the other end. It's part of the job, its something we accept because it comes with the territory. This time, my counterpart came here and made things bad for me. Time Force can't punish her, and we have to abide by the laws here. In a way, I'm responsible for what happened to Roger," she sighed.

"No you're not. You had nothing to do with it," she snapped.

"Really? If that were true, someone would step in and do something about it. The counsel would change their mind, something. Anything. But I'm still here Jen, and in about an hour, it'll all be over," Katie said.

"I refuse to let you die for something you didn't do," she said.

"I'm dying for what I believe in Jen. Before we were TI, before were assigned to the slipstream, we took an oath to uphold the principles and guidelines of Time Force. We've arrested people who thought was innocent because it was right, not because we liked it. Now I have to uphold those principles, even if I don't like the outcome," she said.

"How dare you sit there and try to come off as noble. Roger is dead, but you had nothing to do with it. If this is what Time Force stands for, if these are they're all knowing, all powerful principles, they can go to hell," she walked over to the force field, deactivating it. "I quit. Come on Katie, let's go," she said.

But Katie didn't move. "No Jen, I can't,"

"I can't watch you die either," Jen snapped.

"I'm not thrilled about it either Jen, but I'm not going to let you throw away your career for me knowing it won't change a thing. You'll be sentenced to containment for violating direct orders, and I'll still be gone. I have to do this Jen," she said.

Jen paused, wiping the tears away from her eyes. "You're right Katie, we took an oath to serve and protect, but we also took an oath to each other. We've been friends for years Katie, and there have been times when our loyalty to that friendship outweighed those principles. Now is one of those times Katie. If me being fired from Time Force and sentenced to containment will save your life, I'm prepared to live with that," she told her.

"But I'm not. The same way you're willing to sacrifice yourself to help me, I'm willing to stay in here so you don't ruin your life. I could have broken out of here a hundred times by now, but I won't. I won't let you throw your career – your life – away trying to save me. Thank you Jen, I know what you're trying to do, but I have to do this," Katie said.

With a reluctant sigh, Jen pressed the button on the control panel, reactivating the force field. "I love you Katie," she cried, unable to hold back the tears.

"I love you too,"

(*)

_'Camille to Tommy, come in,'_ a voice said.

"I hear you Camille. What do you have for me?" he asked.

_'I've gone through Roger's personnel files and I found something interesting. The good news is that Cynthia isn't Roger's wife, at least not anymore. They were officially divorced almost six months ago,'_ she said.

"That means she isn't immediate family and her decision is void," he said.

_'Don't send me flowers yet; there's bad news. Both Roger's parents were killed in a car accident almost two years ago. There was an investigation, but nothing was found. With them gone, Cynthia is still the most immediate family Roger has,' _she said.

"So we're right back where we started," he said.

_'Not really. There's still one more thing I want to try, something I have to look into. Have the others meet me in the counsel's chambers in fifteen minutes,'_ she said.

Before he could respond, she turned her morpher off, and then knocked on the door. She could feel her heart sink as she waited for him to come to the door, but knew this was her only option. _'He's the only one that can help,'_ she thought.

Just then, the door opened and there _he_ was. He couldn't have been any taller than six feet and deep brown eyes. She recalled that it was his eyes that made her fall for him in the first place.

"Well well well, what do we have here?" he inquired.

"Blake, I need your help," she sighed.

**TBC**……


	19. Chapter XIX: Change of heart

"Well well well, what do we have here?" he inquired.

"Blake, I need your help," she sighed.

"I always knew you would come crawling back to me," he mentioned, stepping aside to let her in.

Camille walked in, closing the door behind herself. She remembered, at one point, how Blake's cocky attitude was appealing to her, but in retrospect couldn't figure out why. Not much had changed about Blake, his hair was still rather short, and his eyes were still an intoxicating shade of brown. _'Not that I noticed,'_ she lied to herself.

"It isn't what you think," she said.

"You have no idea what I think," he told her.

"Yes I do you. You think I'm here because I miss you, or because somewhere in your delusional mind you think I want to be with you again. Trust me, that couldn't be any further from the truth," she said.

The two of them had broken up on bad terms, and this was the first time she'd seen him since he gave her the ultimatum: leave Time Force to be with him, or it was over. Obviously, she decided against him, and although there were times when she missed him.

"Don't flatter yourself Camille, I don't want you back either," he snapped.

She blushed. "I just thought that……"

"I know what you thought. I was an asshole when we were together, I know that, and I do regret the way we broke it off, but we're both better people for it now. So lets just drop it," Blake suggested.

"Deal."

"So what brings you all the way over here?" he asked.

"Its about your brother, Roger," she sighed.

"If you're here to offer condolences and tell him how wonderful he was, or how it's an awful lose of life, I'll save you the trouble. Its all I ever hear about now days," he said.

"I'm here so you can help my friend Katie," she said.

He paused. "You mean the woman who killed him? You want me to _help_ the bitch that murdered my brother?" he snapped.

"It isn't what you think,"

"I saw the video tape Camille, I know what happened. She walked in, pretended to be his friend and snapped his neck," he said.

"I know what you saw, but it isn't what you think," she paused. "Do you remember the research I use to be about alternate universes?" she asked him.

"Some of it."

"Time Force has allow me to perfect it, and now, we're able to travel to different worlds. I'm part of a unit assigned to go to these worlds and learn as much as we can. They made me a Power Ranger for Gods sake," she said, holding up her morpher.

"I'm impressed, but what does this have to do with my brother?" he asked.

"The Katie who killed your brother was from another reality. She came here trying to take over the city, but we were able to stop her. Since then, she's been taken back to her own world where she will be punished fairly. Now _our_ Katie is here being sentenced to death for something she didn't do," she explained.

"What a minute, death?" he asked.

"Roger's wife is demanding the death penalty," she said.

"We still do that?"

"When someone is murdered, Time Force asks the immediate family what they feel is suitable punishment. Roger's wife opted for death," Camille said.

"Roger and Cynthia weren't even together when he…" he paused, gathering himself. "It wasn't her decision to make," he said.

"That's why I'm here. You're his brother; you're all the immediate family Roger had. I need you to put a stop to this before they kill my friend," she said.

"How? What can I do?"

"Tell them that Katie is innocent, tell them you don't want her sentenced to death," she said.

"When is the sentencing?"

"In about 45 minutes," she said.

He paused, simply looking at her. "The last time I saw you, I forced you to choose between me and what you had worked for your entire life. I didn't support you the last time, but I won't make the same mistake twice. I'll do what I can to save your friend," Blake said.

"Thank you,"

"Wait a sec, 45 minutes? Theres no way we're going to make it all the way to Time Force headquarters in 45 minutes," he said.

She extended her hand to him. "Come on," she said.

He reached out, grabbing her hand as she pushed a button on her morpher, and the two of them disappeared.

(*)

"Oh my God," Blake mumbled in amazement as he found himself standing outside Time Force headquarters. "How did you do that?"

"I'll explain it all later, right now we have a murder to stop," she said.

The two of them headed inside as Camille led him down the hall, around a corner and into the counsel's chambers. By the time she arrived, Tommy, Alex and Trip were already there waiting for her.

"What took you so long?" Trip asked.

"I have to go get help," she said, motioning to Blake.

"Who is this?"

"This is my friend Blake. Blake CaSteel," she introduced.

"You mean hes…"

"Roger's brother," Blake said.

"Excellent. Now he can explain to the counsel that he doesn't want the death penalty. He can save Katie," Tommy said.

"That's why we're here," she said.

"I've asked for the counsel to join us here before the sentencing. They should be here any second now," Alex mentioned.

Before any of them had a chance to respond, the three hooded figures walked into the room, taking their positions at the podium.

"Why have you requested our presence?" one of the figures asked.

"Your honors, we have recently discovered that Cynthia CaSteel and Roger CaSteel were recently divorced, thus making her position as immediate family void. In turn, we have found his biological brother, Blake," Alex explained to them, motioning to Blake.

"You were his brother?" another figure asked.

"Yes your honors,"

"It will take time to establish the validity of your claims. Blake, you must consent to a DNA test to confirm your identity,"

"I understand your honors," he said.

"Alexander, escort him to one of the testing centers. If your claims are valid, he will be given the option to determine Kathryn's fate," the last figure said as the three of them seemed to float out the room.

(*)

Ransik stood on the opposite side of the force field, staring at Katie, who had a void expression on her face.

"I can't believe that such a civilized society could resort to such a primitive form of punishment. The death penalty was outlawed over three centuries ago," he said.

"It's a system that has worked for years. With a law of this magnitude in place, there hasn't been a murder in New Silver Hills in almost twenty six years," she paused. "Except for you," she sighed.

He sighed. "I understand what you're saying, and I can see how it could prevent people from committing murder, but isn't the counsel just as bad for justifying _your_ murder? Killing you won't bring Roger back," he said.

"No one felt this way until it was someone you knew. When I first learned about the counsel's decision, I thought it was a sick way of doing things too. Reminded me of the ancient west when gunslingers were allowed to settle problems their own way. I agree, it isn't the best method of justice, but it's been effective for hundreds of years. I don't like it, but it works," she said.

"But in your case, it shouldn't. You didn't do anything," Ransik snapped.

"I know baby,"

 "You can break out of there and you know it, just come on," he said.

She shook her head. "No, I have to do this," Katie said.

"But I'm nothing without you," he sighed.

"You'll be okay. The others will do what they can for you," she said.

The two of them were interrupted when Jen walked into the room along with two other officers. "Katie, its time," she said.

"No," Ransik snapped.

"I'm here to escort you to level 2 for sentencing," she said, walking over to the panel and deactivating the force field. The other officers aimed phasers at Katie as Jen stepped forward, cuffing Katie's hands in front of her.

"Everything will be okay Ransik, I promise," Katie sighed as she was escorted out the room.

(*)

With the exception of a chair in the middle of the room, the room itself was empty. The walls were a cold gray tone with no windows, and a video camera in each corner of the room to monitor the prisoner. The guards escorted Katie inside, sitting her down in the chair, and then quickly headed out the room, locking the door behind themselves. Katie noticed slight holes in the walls, no bigger than a needlepoint, but there were millions of them.

Meanwhile, Captain Logan and Alex were the only two officers allowed in the room to witness the sentencing. There were a few other scattered members of Time Force personnel doing their everyday duties, including one man who sat in front of the monitor.

"You'll be able to witness it here, on this monitor," he said.

"What's going to happen?"

"The room Katie is in will be flood with a toxic gas. Once inhaled, her nervous system will break down, her heart will stop and……"

"That is just sick," Alex sighed.

"I agree, isn't there a better way to do this?" Captain Logan asked.

"I assure you sir, there is no pain involved. She won't even realized anything is happening," the officer said.

"I find that hard to believe," he sighed, turning to Alex. "Where are those DNA results you promised me?" he asked.

"They're still analyzing them. They should be here any minute now," he said.

"Lets hope so,"

 At that moment, Cynthia walked into the room, staring at the monitor with an emotionless expression on her face.

"Mrs. CaSteel," Alex said, acknowledging her presence.

She nodded slightly.

"It's time sir," the officer said, putting his hand on the switch.

Alex began to sweat. All the work they'd gone through to find someone who could put a stop to all of this was for nothing. Katie was going to die, for nothing. _'This is bullshit. Complete bullshit. No wonder Lucas turned his back on Time Force,'_ he thought to himself.

"Stop," they heard a voice say.

They glanced over to see Cynthia with tears in her eyes.

"Mrs. CaSteel?" the Captain called out.

"I thought I could go through with this, but I can't. If that woman truly is innocent, killing her won't solve a thing. I can't watch her die for something she didn't do," she cried.

The captain motioned to Alex, who took the hint, hurrying out the room and making his way to Katie. He rushed around the corner, coming to the door and kicking it in. Katie turned around quickly.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Come on. Cynthia changed her mind, she isn't going to let them do this," he said.

"Really?"

"Yes really. Lets get out of here," he said.

~

Captain Logan and Cynthia watched the monitors with smiles on their faces as Alex helped Katie out the room.

"You did the right thing," he said.

"I hope so," Cynthia sighed.

Just then, the door flew open, breaking off the hinges as Camille and Trip raced into the room. "I have the DNA results, it's confirmed; Blake is Roger's brother. Stop the sentencing," Camille screamed.

"We already did,"

"Huh?" 

"Mrs. CaSteel had a change of heart," the captain said. 

 She paused, looking at Trip, then back at the captain, unsure of what to say. "Oh. Good then. Sorry about the door, I can fix that," she sighed.

(*)

The four of them sat around the table together in the science lab, each of them dealing with the situation in their own way.

"So what's going to happen to Katie now?" Trip asked.

"Blake has dropped all charges against her, she's free to go, but this is a huge blemish on her permanent record. I wouldn't be surprised if they pull Katie from the slipstream project," Jen told them.

"But what if something like this happens again?" Camille asked.

"Time Force has been forced to establish separate rules and regulations pertaining to the slipstream. Captain Logan is on the board that will put those new rules into effect to prevent this kind of thing from happening to anyone else," she said.

"It's not going to be the same with Katie around," Tommy sighed.

Just then, the doors opened and Alex walked in. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything," he said, walking over to the table.

"Not at all,"

"I thought you would be interested in knowing that Katie was sentenced to two years probation. She'll be allowed to stay on the slipstream project, but if there are any infractions within the project itself, she'll be released from Time Force and the project will be shut down," he explained.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you _Alexander_?" Jen asked, standing up.

"Actually _Jennifer_, the counsel wanted to shut down the project. In their words, 'it does more harm than good,', but I insisted that the work you and the others do here is important. I told them shutting down this project wouldn't be in the best interest of Time Force," he said.

"Really?"

"Yes really. I know I was a little rough on you before, but its only because I want you to be the best at what you do. All of you are doing an excellent job here, and one mistake shouldn't stand in the way of that. Hell, they threatened to shut down TI after that losing the Quantum controller in a time travel experiment, but we bounced back," he said.

"Thank you Alex, for everything," Jen said.

"Just doing my job. Speaking of jobs, all of you need to go home and get some rest, it's back to work in the morning," he said, walking out the room.


	20. Chapter XX: Time & Time again

It was the first good night's sleep he'd gotten since… since as far back as he could remember. He and Jen had traveled to the past, staying in the cheapest hotel they could find. The beds were as comfortable as rocks, and considering the amount of stress they were under; he was surprised he'd gotten any sleep at all. After being in the 21st century for a few days, they returned home only to find themselves with new problems.

Katie's evil counterpart had killed an innocent man and attempted to take over Time Force. She was eventually stopped, but they had the unfortunate task of proving that _their_ Katie was innocent. It took a lot out of everyone, but in the end, Katie was proven innocent and was set free.

The last few days had been complicated to say the very least, so his bed was a welcome sight when he returned home. He didn't even bother taking off his uniform before he flopped down on the bed, going straight to sleep.

It didn't take him long to drift off, but as soon as he got comfortable, it happened. The alarm went off.

Tommy struggled to reach over to his nightstand, trying to knock the clock off the stand without having to get up. Finally, he was successful, and as soon as the clock hit the ground, he let out a sigh of relief.

As soon as he felt himself drifting to sleep again, the phone rang.

"Damn it," he mumbled as he reluctantly sat up, wiping his eyes and yawning as he reached for the phone. The phone itself sat on the nightstand, and as soon as it pressed the button, Jen appeared on the small viewscreen.

"Good morning sleepy head," she said cheerfully.

"Morning? I just got home," he moaned.

"Tommy, that was like 12 hours ago," she mentioned.

Tommy leaned over the bed, picking up the clock he'd knocked over a few minutes ago, confirming that it was 0800 hours. "Oh God," he sighed.

"Looks like someone got up on the wrong side of the bed," she said.

"I haven't even gotten up yet, how can it be the wrong side?" he asked, yawning again.

"Sorry Tom, but duty calls. Its back to work, and we were all hoping you could come in a little early so we could surprise Katie when came in. You know it's her first day back since…" she was cut short.

"I'll be there," he sighed.

"Great. See you soon," she said, disconnecting the link.

Tommy slithered out the bed, heading into the bathroom. It didn't take him long to get out of his uniform and shower, letting the warm watch splash against him. If he hadn't been so tired, it would have been soothing.

He quickly got out the shower and changed into a clean uniform, grabbing an orange off the table and headed out the front door.

(*)

Trip and Camille sat next to one another at the table, closely examining the morpher closely. They'd been at it for hours, neither of them saying a word to each other. Not that there was a lack of conversation, but both used the excuse of being "buried in their work" to avoid talking.

The truth was, Camille had been consumed with thoughts of Trip – the moment they almost kissed. She'd been waiting for him to make a move, but was beginning to think that maybe he wasn't very interested in her. Maybe their relationship, in his opinion, didn't go any farther than a working one. She hoped that he was interested in her, and yesterday she confirmed her suspicions. As happy as she was to know that he felt the same, she wished that they had been able to finish what they started. _'If I throw myself at him, he'll think I'm a slut,'_ she thought to herself, trying to figure out a way to tell him how she felt.

"Do you see that?" he asked, finally breaking the silence between them.

"See what?"

"How this quadrastronic capacitor is set so high," he pointed out.

"It suggests that it was designed to bend light, almost like a…"

"Cloaking device," Camille finished.

"And the sight to sight transporter functions remind me a lot of the time circuits on board the time ship," he said.

"Are you suggesting that it would allow you travel through time without the use of a time ship?" she asked.

"I'm suggesting it was _designed_ to do that, but whoever designed it didn't take into account the ionic instability of a vortex," he said.

"Can you fix it?"

"Not only can I fix it, I can modify our morphers to do the same thing," Trip said.

"You're brilliant, you know that?"

"So I've been told," he said.

Just then, Jen and Captain Logan walked into the room, heading over to the table.

"You two are still at it?" the captain asked.

"Thanks for giving us a chance to examine the white Chrono morpher. It's given us a lot of ideas for our morphers," he said.

"Such as?"

"Jen, can I see your morpher?" he asked. Without question, Jen removed her morpher, handing it to him. "The white Chrono morpher was designed with it's own cloaking device, and I think we can adapt that concept to ours," he told them.

"Great, keep me updated," Jen said.

"It shouldn't take long at all, just a few minutes," Camille said, removing her morpher and setting it on the table next to Trip's.

"Tommy isn't here yet?" the Captain asked.

"No," Trip and Camille said in unison.

No sooner then they responded did the door to the science lab open and Tommy walked in wearing a pair of deeply tinted sunglasses.

"Going for the Alex look I take it," Jen noticed as he walked in.

"No, going for the 'I'm not quite awake yet' look," he corrected.

"It works for you,"

"Is Katie here yet?" he asked.

"No, she should be here any minute. I just want make her feel welcome on her first day back," Captain Logan said.

"I hope she brings doughnuts," Camille said.

Just then, the door opened and Katie walked in. "Morning all," she said cheerfully.

"Welcome back Katie," Jen said, walking over to her and wrapping her arms around her. Katie obliged her, wrapping her arms around Jen as well.

"Its good to be back," she said.

"Katie, give me your morpher," Trip said.

Without dispute, Katie took her morpher off, handing it to him. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm working on some modifications. It should only take a few minutes," he said.

"Before you get started, you need to give us an update on the slipstream," Captain Logan said.

Trip and Camille finally backed away from the table, heading over to the slipstream controls. "As you already know, Trip did modifications to allow Tommy and Jen to travel back to the 21st century. As soon as they traveled through, there was an overload of some sort and the modifications were fused into the slipstream circuitry. They in essence combined," Camille explained.

"Can you give it to us in English?" Katie asked.

"In addition to allowing us to travel to other realities, we can use it for time travel as well," Trip said.

"Are you saying we won't need the time ships anymore?" the Captain asked.

"I wouldn't shut down the time ships just yet, there's a flaw," she said.

"What kind of flaw?"

"The portal will allow us to travel back and forth through time, but we can't control when and where we'll end up. Its just as unpredictable as the slipstream was," Trip said.

"You mean we could end up in the past in another reality?" Jen asked.

"That's just it. It could be another reality, it could be _our_ reality. We won't know until we get there," he told her.

"Well this is going to be fun," Tommy sighed.

"Is it safe?" the Captain asked.

"I don't foresee any problems, but I did plan to run a diagnostic first," he said, heading over to the control panel. He pushed a button, and the panel began to hum. 

"Is it supposed to do that?" Katie asked.

"No, it looks like it's about to…"

He was cut short as a wave of energy shot out the slipstream. There was a flash of light, and everyone covered their eyes to shield themselves.

(*)

The alarm clock went off.

Tommy sighed with frustration as he reached over to the nightstand, knocking it off the table and to the floor. No sooner did he lay back down, the phone rang. 

"Damn it," he mumbled as he reluctantly sat up, wiping his eyes and yawning as he reached for the phone. The phone itself sat on the nightstand, and as soon as it pressed the button, Jen appeared on the small viewscreen.

"Good morning sleepy head," she said cheerfully.

It was then that it hit him, something was wrong. He sat up, wiping his eyes, trying to shake the disorientation. 

"Morning? I just got home," he said.

"Tommy, that was like 12 hours ago," she mentioned.

He leaned over the bed, picking up his clock. _'Please don't say 0800 hours,' _he thought to himself before he looked. "Oh God," he sighed, realizing that it did in fact say 0800.

"Looks like someone got up on the wrong side of the bed," she said.

"Something like that," he mumbled.

"Sorry Tom, but duty calls. Its back to work, and we were all hoping you could come in a little early so we could surprise Katie when came in. You know……" she was cut short.

"I know, it's her first day back. I'll be there," he sighed.

"Great. See you soon," she said, disconnecting the link.

Tommy stood up, staring around the room strangely. Something seemed odd to him, but he wasn't able to put his finger on it. He put the blame on traveling back and forth through time the last few days, not to mention he hadn't slept well the last few days.

"As this time travel stuff is going to drive me crazy," he sighed to himself.

He quickly slid out his clothes and into the shower, allowing the warm weather to hit him. Although it was soothing, there was also something very familiar about it. Again, he blamed it on lack of sleep as he got out the shower, quickly got dressed. As he walked by the table, he grabbed an orange, then headed for the front door.

~

He arrived at Time Force headquarters a few minutes later, making his way to the elevator. As soon as the elevator door slid open, Ensign Harris greeted him.

"Hey Tommy, long night?" he asked.

"You could say that," he sighed.

"Here, you might be able to use these," he said, handing him a pair of sunglasses as Tommy stepped onto the elevator.

"Thanks," he said, putting them on.

"They kinda make you look like Commander Collins," he pointed out.

Tommy remained silent until the elevator stopped on his floor. He politely nodded at Ensign Harris, and then stepped off the elevator, making his way to the science lab. He stopped in front of the door, placing his hand on a plate on the panel in the wall.

_'Identity confirmed. Welcome Tommy,'_ the computer announced as the door opened.

As soon as he walked in, it was Jen who made her way towards him. "Going for the Alex look I take it," she noticed.

"No, going for the…" he paused in mid sentence. "That's weird," he said.

"What?"

"I've got the strangest feeling that…" he paused, shaking it off. "Nevermind," he sighed.

"Is Katie here yet?" he asked.

"No, she should be here any minute. I just want make her feel welcome on her first day back," Captain Logan said.

"I hope she brings doughnuts," Tommy said, and then glanced over at Camille, waiting for her to say it.

"Yeah, me too," Camille said.

Just then, the door opened and Katie walked in. "Morning all," she said cheerfully.

"Welcome back Katie," Jen said, walking over to her and wrapping her arms around her. Katie obliged her, wrapping her arms around Jen as well.

"Its good to be back," she said.

"Katie, give me your morpher," Trip said.

Without dispute, Katie took her morpher off, handing it to him. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm working on some modifications. It should only take a few minutes," he said.

Tommy took a seat at the table where Trip and Camille had been working, trying to put his finger on the strange feeling of familiarly that washed over him. He tried to tell himself that he'd gotten use to coming to the science lab everyday, and he knew how the others would normally react. _'That has to be it,'_ he thought. 

"Before you get started, you need to give us an update on the slipstream," Captain Logan said.

Trip and Camille finally backed away from the table, heading over to the slipstream controls. "As you already know, Trip did modifications to allow Tommy and Jen to travel back to the 21st century. As soon as they traveled through, there was an overload of some sort and the modifications were fused into the slipstream circuitry. They in essence combined," Camille explained.

"Can you give it to us in English?" Katie asked.

"He means it'll let us travel through time and to different dimensions as well," Tommy said, recalling Trip saying something about it to him before, but wasn't sure where.

"That's right," Trip said.

"Are you saying we won't need the time ships anymore?" the Captain asked.

"I wouldn't shut down the time ships just yet, there's a flaw," she said.

"What kind of flaw?"

"The portal will allow us to travel back and forth through time, but we can't control when and where we'll end up. Its just as unpredictable as the slipstream was," Trip said.

"You mean we could end up in the past in another reality?" Jen asked.

"That's just it. It could be another reality, it could be _our_ reality. We won't know until we get there," he told her.

"Well this is going to be…," he paused. "fun," Tommy sighed.

"Is it safe?" the Captain asked.

"I don't foresee any problems, but I did plan to run a diagnostic first," he said, heading over to the control panel. He pushed a button, and the panel began to hum. 

"Is it supposed to do that?" Katie asked.

It was at that moment that things began to clear up for him. By the time he realized something was going on, it was too late.

"No, it looks like it's about to…"

Trip was cut short as a wave of energy shot out the slipstream. There was a flash of light, and Tommy covered his eyes to shield himself.

(*)

The alarm clock went off.

This time, Tommy sat up in the bed quickly, not even bothering to knock the clock off the nightstand. He simply picked it up and turned it off as he checked the time.

"0800 hours," he mumbled to himself.

Just then, the phone rang. "What the hell is going on?" he mumbled as he reached for the phone. He pressed the button, Jen appeared on the small viewscreen.

"Good morning sleepy head," she said cheerfully.

"I know, today is Katie's first day back and you want me to come in a few minutes early, right?" he asked. 

"Yeah, looks like someone got up on the right side of the bed," she said.

"Something like that. I'll be there," he sighed.

"Great. See you soon," she said, disconnecting the link.

This time Tommy got up, neglecting to shower or change clothes. He simply headed out the front door, hoping to make sense of the situation.

~

As soon as he got to Time Force headquarters, he stopped in front of the elevator. _'Either I'm crazy, or Ensign Harris is going to be there,'_ he thought. As soon as the elevator door slid open, sure enough, Ensign Harris greeted him.

"Hey Tommy, long night?" he asked.

Instead of answering, Tommy ran around the corner and headed for the steps. He ran all the way to the fourth floor, making his way to Alex's office. As soon as he got there, Alex was heading out the door.

"What's your rush Tommy?" he asked.

"I need to talk to you,"

Alex noticed the distress in his voice. "Come in my office, have a seat," the two of them walked back into the office, sitting down across from one another. "What's going on?"

"You've dealt with time travel before; have you ever felt like you were reliving the same day over and over?" he inquired.

"I get that feeling without time travel some time. It's just the routine you've gotten into, that's all," he told him.

"No, that's not it. I thought that at first, but this is the third time it's happened," Tommy pointed out.

He paused. "If what you're saying is really happening, it would mean you're caught in a causality loop," he said.

"What?"

"It's the technical definition for what you described,"

"But how did it happen?"

"There are several ways a causality loop could be formed. The most common way would be a surge of ionic energy, but if you were caught in a loop, you wouldn't have any knowledge of it," Alex pointed out.

"There has to be something that makes me different from everyone else," he thought outloud.

"Well, you're the oldest person in history," he mentioned.

"That couldn't be it, there has to be something that…" he was cut short.

"Do you hear that?" Alex asked.

"What?"

"Sounds like humming," he said.

Just then, there was a flash of light, and Tommy shielded his eyes to protect them from the light.

(*)

The alarm went off.

"This is getting ridiculous," Tommy snapped as he sat up in bed, knocking the clock off the nightstand. No sooner did the clock hit the phone did the phone rang.

Realizing it would be Jen, he opted not to answer it, simply putting on his shoes and headed for the front door.

~

_'If I'm caught in a causality loop, there has to be something that triggers it,'_ he thought to himself as he walked to work. It didn't take him long to figure it out. _'It's the slipstream. Trip said it was unstable, and he wanted to run some tests before we used it. Somehow, the energy wave that came from the slipstream is caught me in this loop,'_ he thought. Unsure on how to proceed, he headed for the science lab, knowing that Trip would be able to help him.

He avoided the elevator when he got to work, taking the steps again, running all the way to the science lab. When he came to the science lab door, he placed his hand on the plate next to the door.

_'Identity confirmed. Welcome Tommy,'_ the computer announced as the door's opened.

Tommy rushed in the lab, heading over to Trip. "How do you stop a causality loop?" he asked him.

"What?"

"In theory, if there was a causality loop, how would you stop it?" he repeated.

"If there was a loop in progress, you would have no knowledge of repeating the same day over and over," Camille added, injecting herself into the conversation.

"What could shield a person from being affected by the loop and allowing them to retain their memory, but still be caught in the loop itself?" he asked them.

"In theory, low levels of radiation would block the loop, trapping you inside but you would still have full knowledge of what was happening," she said.

"What do we have that gives off low level radiation?"

"The morphers," they said in unison.

"That can't be right. If it's the morphers, that would mean that the rest of you wouldn't be effected either," he said, more so talking to himself than Trip and Camille.

Just then, the door opened and Katie walked in. "Morning all," she said cheerfully.

"Welcome back Katie," Jen said, walking over to her and wrapping her arms around her. Katie obliged her, wrapping her arms around Jen as well.

"Its good to be back," she said.

"Katie, give me your morpher," Trip said.

Without dispute, Katie took her morpher off, handing it to him. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm working on some modifications. It should only take a few minutes," he said.

"That's it," Tommy screamed.

"Whats what?" Camille asked.

"You and Trip are working on modifications for the morphers, but you never took mine. Before you had a chance to, Captain Logan asked you to tell him about the slipstream. You tell him that the modifications you made fused with the slipstream, making it unstable. Somehow, the slipstream will allow us to travel back and forth through time, but we can't control when or where we'll end up. Trip goes to run some tests and the panel started humming. There was a flash, then I wake up in my bed again," he explained.

Without a word, Trip walked over to the control panel, looking over some of the readings. "There is a buildup of ionic energy in the slipstream that I hadn't noticed before. If I had tried to run a test on the system, it would have overloaded and an ionic pulse would have filled the room," he mentioned.

"If you were wearing a morpher, you would have been shielded from the effects, but trapped in a causality loop until you figured out how to stop it," Camille added.

"Disengaging the slipstream," Trip said.

"That should do it," Captain Logan said.

"It'll take Camille and I at least another six hours to find out what went wrong and correct the ionic buildup. I guess you guys get another day off," he said.

"Good, I'm going home and going back to bed," Tommy sighed as he walked out the lab.


	21. Chapter XXI: Eye of the storm

Jen watched on as Trip and Camille made the final modifications to the slipstream. It was interesting watching them work; how neither of them said a word to one another, yet still seemed to be in sync with each other. Trip would hold his hand out, Camille would hand him the appropriate tool without even asking. Camille would back away from a station, and Trip could immediately picked up where she left off. It was amazing to say the very least.

She recalled a time when she and Alex were the same way. Granted, they weren't working on complex machinery the way Camille and Trip did, but the two of them had a bond nonetheless. She could anticipate his every move, knew what he was thinking before he was able to formulate a sentence, and vice versa. It all changed when Wes came into the picture.

Her love for Wes overshadowed everything she'd ever felt for Alex, which surprised her, considering the uncanny resemblance between them. There was a time when she thought she would never love another man……

… Then she met Tommy Oliver…

She'd read about him in the history logs. Hell, everyone at Time Force academy had read about the infamous Tommy Oliver, the evil green ranger who came within inches of destroying the power rangers. Eventually, the spell over him was broken and he joined the same team he was ordered to destroy. Later, his adventures as the white ranger, then again as both the red Zeo and red Turbo ranger. Finally, the last entry in the history logs about the mission involving red rangers from every incarnation of Earth-bound rangers joining together to put an end to the Machine Empire. Tommy was trying a living legend.

Maybe it was that – his legendary status – that initially attracted her to him. Even if that were the case, she was over it now. Whatever it was that drew her to Tommy, it didn't happen 1000 years ago, it was happening now.

She remembered Alex proposing to her, but her mission to the 21st century prevented their marriage. Then, the recalled waiting until the last minute to tell Wes how she felt about him. _'A lot of good that did,'_ she remembered. This time, she was determined not to make the same mistake with Tommy. She promised herself that she would tell him how she felt before it was too late.

"We're ready here," Camille said, breaking Jen's concentration.

"What is it Camille?"

"We've run over a dozen tests with the slipstream and everything seems to check out. No foreseeable side effects, no ionic surges, no overloads, nothing," she said.

"Excellent work you two," she said.

"Thanks," they said in unison.

Jen reached for her morpher. "Jen to Katie, respond," she said.

~

Katie and Tommy stood across from one another in what appeared to be an open field. The wind was blowing gently, and the sun shined down on the two of them. They stood face to face, and then bowed at one another slightly before taking their positions.

"You ready?"

"I should be asking you, _old man,_" Katie said.

Tommy nodded slightly, rushing at her with a spin kick. Katie was able to duck it, but Tommy caught her with a leg sweep, knocking her over. As Katie hit the ground, Tommy tried to stomp down on her chest, but she caught his foot, knocking him off balance. He did a back flip, landing on his feet, then lunged at her again. Katie sidestepped him, kicking him in the back of the leg, sending him crashing down.

She was just about to finish him off when…

_'Jen to Katie, respond,'_ a voice said.

Katie paused, reaching for her morpher. "I hear ya' Jen. What's up?" she asked.

_'I hate to break up your training session, but its time to go to work,'_ she said.

"On the way boss," she said. As soon as she looked up, Tommy caught her with a sabat kick to the face, flipping Katie over and sending her crashing to the ground. "Damn it Tommy, I wasn't ready,"

"The bad guys aren't going to wait for you to answer a call. You have to be ready at all times," he said.

"Couldn't you have taught me such a valuable lesson without almost knocking my teeth out?" she asked.

"Could have, but it wouldn't have come close to the look on your face when…" he was cut short as Katie kicked him between the legs.

Tommy fell to his knees, holding himself in pain. "Oh yeah, I see what you mean," she giggled. "Computer, end simulation," she called out.

_'Simulation terminated,'_ the computer announced.

The scenery faded away, replacing the field and the trees with a drab, monotone gray shaded room with grids along the walls.

"Come on old man, we got work to do," she said, helping him up and walking away.

(*)

The two of them walked into the science lab where Jen, who had a concerned, greeted them look on her face.

"What happened to him?" she asked.

"We were training, I'll be fine," Tommy mumbled.

"Alright guys, you know the drill by now. I'll set the slipstream for 90 minutes. That gives you enough time to look around and find out as much as you can about the place, but try not to interact with too many people. We don't want to run the risk of altering the time line, even if it isn't our world," Captain Logan explained.

"Understood," Camille said.

"Also, make sure you plant one of the these beacon as soon as you arrive. That was, if we ever need to, we'll be able to lock into the beacon and transport back to it's location," he said as he handed Tommy the beacon, then took his seat in front of the control panel.

"Cammy and I have also installed the cloaking device in each of the morphers. They should allow us to walk around undetected," Trip said.

"Cammy?" Katie mentioned.

Trip blushed. "What? We call you Katie, _Kathryn,_" he pointed out.

"Point taken," she sighed.

"Good luck, to all of you," the Captain said as he activated the blue swirling vortex.

Without a word, Jen was the first to step through, followed by the others. As soon as all five of them were through, Captain Logan deactivated the vortex.

~

They found themselves in a forest of some kind, but the trees were taller than any they'd ever seen before. Despite their height, the sun managed to shine down on them.

"This is beautiful," Camille said, looking at the surroundings.

"Everyone okay?" Jen asked, making sure everyone in the group was accounted for as the vortex dissipated.

"We're good," Tommy said, speaking for the group.

"Anybody have any idea where we are?"

"Um, a forest," Katie responded.

"Can anyone be a little more specific?" she asked.

Tommy glanced around, trying to become familiar with the surroundings. "It looks like there's a clearing over there, about a half of mile north. We should head there, see what we can find out," he said, placing the beacon down behind a tree.

"Sounds good, lets go," Jen said.

The five of them headed for the clearing, which turned out to be a small city of some kind. "That forest must be the dividing line between cities," Trip speculated.

There were dozens of people walking around; some of them looked as though they'd been shopping, others in suits, some of them wearing shorts and t-shirts.

"Whatever or where ever this place is, we're severely overdressed," Camille mentioned.

"She's right, we should ditch the uniforms and try to blend in until we can figure something out," Jen suggested.

"I don't think we'll blend in if we're naked,"

"Don't worry, we'll take care of it," Trip said, grabbing Camille by the hand.

They walked over to a nearby store, heading inside. Jen walked over to the counter, where they was a woman in front of the register.

"Welcome to Storm Chargers, what can I do for you?" she asked.

"Do you have an AMT machine?" Jen inquired.

"Yeah, it's in the back," she told her.

Jen turned to Tommy. "You guys pick out something to wear, I'll be back in a sec," she said, walking towards the ATM machine.

"So, you guys in the military or something?" the woman behind the counter asked.

"Yeah, you could say that," Tommy said, speaking for the group.

Just then, a man walked out from what appeared to be the back of the store. He had on a pair of jean shorts and a yellow shirt. "Hey, I'm Dustin. What can I do for you guys?" he asked.

"My friends and I are interested in some clothes," he said.

"Come on, I've got just the thing for you dude," Dustin said.

(*)

Cam sat in front of his computer, trying to figure out the readings he found. The concerned look on his face caught the attention of his father, who walked over to him.

"What seems to be the problem Cam?" he asked.

"I'm picking up an energy reading awfully close to the entrance to Ninja Ops. I don't like it," he told him.

"Contact the rangers and have him investigate,"

(*)

"Dude, you look totally sweet," Dustin said as he stood back, getting a good look at Trip.

Trip glanced at himself in the mirror, unsure of what he thought about it. He had on a pair of shorts and a white tank top with matching flip-flops.

"I like it," Camille mentioned.

Trip blushed. "I like it too," he said insincerely.

Just then, they heard a beep. Before Dustin could move, Tommy instinctively glanced down, noticing a morpher on his wrist. "Hey guys, I'll be back in a sec," he said, hurrying out the front door.

Jen walked over to them with a wad of money in her hand. "Trip, you look…," he glanced over at Camille, then back at Trip. "nice," she said.

"Thanks,"

She quickly noticed the look on Tommy's face. "What is it Tommy?" she asked.

"Trip, you, Jen and Camille stay here. Pick yourselves something to wear. Katie and I will be right back," he said.

Katie followed Tommy out the store. "What's going on Tommy?" she repeated.

"That guy who was helping us pick out clothes, hes a power ranger," he said.

"What?"

"He had on a morpher. It went off, I think the other rangers are trying to contact him," he told her.

_'Hes right Katie,'_ they heard a voice say.

Katie reached for her morpher. "What do you have for us Captain?" she asked.

_'From what the history banks tell me, the man and two others comprise the Ninja Storm power rangers,'_ he said.

"Only three?" he inquired.

_'At this point in history, yes. Later, three more will join the group, but not for a while. Looks like they've picked up an energy signature in a forest not too far from your location. They're converging there to investigate,'_ he said.

"The beacon, they must have picked up on the beacon," 

_'You have to stop them from finding the beacon. If they can detect it, they have the technology to discover its origins as well. We can't allow the time line to be altered in any way,'_ he explained.

"Understood," Katie said.

"You ready?"

"Lets go," she said.

The two of them reached for their morphers and pressed a button, activating the cloaking devices, then headed into the forest.

~

The two of them watched on as Dustin and two other people searched through the forest.

"What did Cam say it was?" the girl asked.

"He didn't. All he said was that there was an energy signature," Dustin said.

"Could it be an alien?"

"Maybe Lothor is up to his tricks again," the other man suggested.

"Tori, Shane, I don't know. He seemed to be worried about it being so close to the entrance of Ninja Opts. That's all I know," he said.

"You got that right," Tori said.

"Whatever dude,"

Just then, a group of men dressed in black costumes materialized from out of nowhere. Tommy and Katie watched in with amazement.

"Cyclobots," Katie whispered.

"No, puddies," he suggested.

~

"Kelzaks," Shane said, standing in a battle ready position. "Let's do it," he said.

Tori and Dustin both reached for their morphers as well. _'NINJA STORM, RANGER FORM,'_ they called out. Suddenly, power ranger uniforms replaced their clothes.

The red ranger charged in after two of them, hitting a cyclone kick that took both of them down. A Kelzak grabbed him from behind, but he used a tree to get his footing, do a back flip and land behind him. Before the Kelzak could turn around, the red ranger kicked him in the back, knocking it up against the tree.

The yellow ranger called for a hammer of some kind, which he used to knock about the Kelzaks while the blue ranger did a double back flip in mid air, kicking a Kelzak in the back of the head. As if fell, she did another flip, wrapping her legs around a Kelzak's head and spun him around, taking him down as well.

The three of them stood back to back surrounded by unconscious bodies, which, just as quickly as they appeared, disappeared.

"I knew it, Lothor is up to something," the red ranger said.

"We should get back to Ninja Opts and see what Cam can tell us," the blue ranger suggested.

Each nodded, and the three of them hurried away.

When it was clear, both Katie and Tommy disengaged their cloaks, heading for the beacon. "We have to find that beacon before the rangers do," Katie said.

"I'm afraid you have much bigger problems on your hand little lady," they heard a voice say from behind.

They turned around to find themselves surrounded by another group of Kelzaks, but one of them was different. This was appeared human, but had on a mask of some sort. There were openings for his eyes, nose and mouth, and he wore a long, black cape.

"And who are you suppose to be?" Tommy asked.

"My friends call me Lothor," he paused. "I take that back, I don't have any friends," he told them. 

Before they could move, the Kelzak's grabbed them, and they all disappeared into a stream of light.

**TBC**……


	22. Chapter XXII: Eye of the storm pt 2

Jen and Trip found themselves outside the store with shopping bags in their hand, each of them unsure on what to do next.

"Its been an hour, they should have been back by now," he mentioned.

"I don't want to contact them, it might blow their cover, but I'm not sure what else we can do," Jen sighed.

The door to the store opened as a woman stepped out. "You guys okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, we're fine. We're just waiting for our friends to come back," Jen mentioned.

"You know, a lot of weird things happen here, but with the power rangers around, I'm sure everything is fine," she said.

"The power rangers?" Trip inquired.

"Yeah, up until now I always thought they were a myth. Think about it: average people who wear spandex and defend the city against the forces of evil. Come on, what evil force would concentrate his attack on one city, and why not just destroy the rangers while they're going on with their everyday lives? Just sounds silly if you ask me, but I've seen them. They're real, and they keep the city safe," she explained.

"How do you contact the rangers when there's a problem?" he asked.

"We don't, they just _know_ when there's a problem and they show up," she said.

Just then, Dustin ran up to the store. "Kelly, sorry I had to leave like that, but everything is totally under control now," he told her.

"Good, I saved some work for you in the back," she said.

"Oh, great," he sighed, heading inside.

"Well, I have to get back to work too. I hope your friends show up soon," Kelly said as she walked back inside.

"I don't like this Trip," Jen sighed.

"You're being hard on yourself. I think your shorts are a little too skimpy, but you look nice," he mentioned.

Jen rolled her eyes. "Not that, I mean not hearing from the others, they should have contacted us by now," she said.

"What should we do?"

"We'll head back to the forest and wait for the portal to reopen. If we haven't heard from them in 30 minutes, we'll use the sight to sight transporter to lock onto their location and teleport to their positions," she explained.

"Right," he said, nodding slightly.

"You really think the shorts are too skimpy?" she mumbled.

(*)

"Okay, lets go over this one more time," Lothor said as he paced back and forth in front of the holding cell.

Tommy and Katie sat up against the wall, simply watching Lothor as he paced. Katie knew it wouldn't take much effort to break through the bars holding them, but Lothor had taken their morphers. Getting out wouldn't do them much good if they didn't know where their morphers were.

"I told you, we're traveling ice cream salesmen," Katie told him, mocking him.

She'd faced some of the most notorious monsters, demons, mutants and orgs the universe had ever seen. This guy was more or less human with delusional dreams of world domination.

"You're not making this easy on yourselves, are you?" he took a step forward. "I already know you're power rangers, what I don't know is which ninja academy you're from. I thought we'd captured all the students from all the academies," he brought up.

"Not ours. We're from the 'you're out your damn mind' ninja academy. Its on the Westside next to McDonalds," she said.

"I see you want to be difficult, that's fine by me. Nothing like a little torture to brighten my day anyway," he said, motioning to the guards to open the cell. A group of Kelzaks rushed in, grabbing both of them and pulling them out.

"What shall I do with them master?" Zurgane asked.

"Throw them in the pit of despair. Maybe some quality time to Sidious will encourage them to tell me the truth," he said.

"As you wish sire," he said, leading the Kelzaks down a hall. 

They came to an empty room with seemingly no windows, and but bars on the opposite side of the room. The Kelzaks pushed them inside, slamming the door shut, locking it behind them.

"So what do we do now?" Katie asked.

"We wait," Tommy said patiently.

"For what?"

"What do you expect us to do Katie? We don't have our morphers, so even if we fought our way out, we'd have to come back for them. I say we wait. Jen and the others will come for us sooner or later," he told her.

"That's your plan?"

"Pretty much,"

"Well, its time for a new plan," she said.

"Why's that?"

Without a word, Katie motioned to the bars across the room as they opened, and _it_ stepped out. Even on all four legs it appeared to be almost seven feet tall, with jagged claws on each paw. Its eyes seemed to glow an eerie shade of red, and it's fangs looked sharp enough to chew through steel.

"He looks hungry," Katie mentioned.

"You didn't happen to bring some McDonalds on your way from the Westside with you, huh?" he said, backing up slowly.

The two of them found themselves up against the wall as the creature moved closer to them. Just then, it stopped, sniffing around the room, directing its attention away from Tommy and Katie.

"What is it?"

At that moment, Camille disengaged her cloaking device. _"TIME FOR, TIME FORCE,"_ she called out, transforming into the blue ranger.

The creature rushed towards her, but she called for her Chrono saber, fighting the beast off. It knocked her up against the wall, but when it charged towards her, she held her saber out, stabbing it in the throat. The creature fell to the ground as blood spilled out the open wound.

"Leave it to you two to get trapped with the beast from hell," she said, powering down.

"Where did you come from?" Tommy asked.

"I've been here the whole time. When you two ran off after that guy, I switched on the cloak and followed you. I thought you might need some backup," she told them.

"Good thinking,"

"I got a good look around this place and I know where they're keeping your morphers. I can do a sight to sight and get us out of here, but without a cloak, they'd catch you guys in a heartbeat," she said.

"What do you suggest?"

"I'll go, get the morphers and bring them back here. Go don't anywhere," she said as she engaged her cloak. There was a stream of blue light, but it vanished as well.

"Where did she think we were going to go?" Katie asked.

~

Camille wandered down the corridors, stopping at what appeared to be the central base of the operation. Lohtor was sitting on his thrown with Zurgane standing at his side. There were two women there as well, sitting on the opposite side.

"Were you able to determine the source of the energy signal?" Lothor asked.

"No sire. Our censors say it's coming from the forest," he said.

"Don't tell me what I already know General. Geez, what does an evil genius have to do to get some good help these days?" he mumbled.

"I could investigate sir,"

"Really? You think that would be a good idea?" he asked sarcastically.

"Yes sire,"

"Duh," he groaned.

Zurgane nodded, then walked out the room.

"Honestly Uncle, I don't know why you keep that guy around. He's such a loser," one of the girls said.

"You'd be the authority on that, wouldn't you Marah?" the other asked.

"What does that mean?"

"It means you're a loser," she said.

"Am not."

"Are too," she said.

"You're the loser Kapri," Marah said.

"Well, I'm rubber and you're glue," she said.

"I'm annoyed!" Lothor said, breaking them up.

"Sorry Uncle," they said in unison.

"Do you think the two of you could stop bickering just long enough to get the morphers and bring them to me?" he asked.

"I could, I don't know about Kapri," she said.

"Oh yeah, I think…"

"Just do it!" he snapped.

"Sorry Uncle," they said in unison again, hurrying away.

Camille followed them out of the room and down the hall to what looked like another holding cell. Marah opened a small panel in the wall, revealing the morphers.

"You could totally be rangers. If that skinny surfer chick can do it, I know we could," Marah said.

"I could, the spandex would make you look fat,"

"I am not fat,"

"You have put on some weight Marah," Kapri said.

"Have not,"

"Just admit it, you're a cow," she said.

"Am not,"

Camille hit a spin kick, knocking Marah up against the wall, knocking her out. Kapri went to check on her, but Camille gave her a back heel kick, taking her down as well. With both of them unconscious, Camille grabbed the morphers.

"Geez, how does he plan to take over the world with these losers?" she mumbled, teleporting out the room.

~

There was a stream of blue light, and seconds later, Camille disengaged the cloak. "Hey guys, miss me?" she asked.

"Of course,"

"Here, I brought you guys something," she said, handing them their morphers.

"That was quick," Tommy said.

"What can I say, I'm a miracle worker," she said.

"Alright guys, lets get out of here," Katie said.

(*)

Jen and Trip were in the forest, simply watching as Zurgane and a group of Kelzaks searched for the beacon. One of the Kelzaks walked up to Zurgane and mumbled something.

"There is nothing here. We will return to master Lothor and report our progress," he said.

"Not so fast Zurgane," he heard a voice say.

He turned around to see Shane, Dustin and Tori standing behind him. "Whatever you're up to Zurgane, it ends here," Shane said.

_"NINJA STORM, RANGER FORM,"_ they called out, replacing their ninja academy uniforms with their ranger uniforms.

The Kelzaks moved in, but the red ranger gave one of them a tornado fury kick, knocking into several move Kelzaks. The blue ranger someone harnessed the power of water, shooting a beam of water at another group of Kelzaks, sending them half way across the forest. The yellow ranger made his move for Zurgane.

"Give it up Zurgy," he said.

"Perhaps another time rangers," Zurgane said, disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

"Alright guys, lets get back to Ninja Opts and let Sensei and Cam know whats going on," the red ranger said.

"Right," they said in unison, following him.

Trip and Jen waited until they were gone, then disengaged the cloaks. 

"You know, those guys aren't so different from us," she said.

"Besides the fact that the yellow ranger is a guy and I'd pay to see Camille's uniform cling to her like that?" he brought up.

"No, I'm serious. They work together, they're all friends, and they come together to get the job done. They remind me a lot of us," she said.

"I guess,"

Just then, Camille, Tommy and Katie ran over to them. 

"Its good to see you guys," Tommy said, glancing over at Jen. "Nice shorts,"

She blushed. "Are you guys okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine. Thanks to Camille," Katie said.

"All shucks, t'werent nothing," she sighed.

"I think we should disengage the cloak on this world. If we leave it here, those ninja rangers will eventually find it, and the last thing we need to do is expose them to the future like that," Trip brought up.

"Yeah, they've got their hands full with that Lothor guy," Tommy sighed.

Trip headed for the beacon, which was hidden behind a tree, picked it up and deactivated it, then reached for his morpher. "Captain Logan. This is Trip, respond," he said.

_'I read you Trip. You guys are running late today,'_ he said.

"I know, we had some problems, but it's under control now," he said.

_'Good. Stand by,'_ he said.

Jen and Tommy had wandered away from the group a little, not so much that they were out of sight, but enough for them to talk without being overheard.

"It really is beautiful," Jen sighed, getting one last look at the forest.

"Yes, it is," he said.

She turned to him, only to see he hadn't taken his eyes off her. "Tommy, there's something I want to tell you," she said.

"What is it?"

"Our ride is here. Lets go guys," Katie called out as she and the others stepped through the portal.

The two of them glanced over and saw the blue swirling vortex a few feet away. "How about we discuss it tonight, at my place?" she suggested.

"You mean like a date?"

"Something like that," Jen said as she stepped through the portal.

Tommy cracked a smile, and then stepped inside the portal as well.


	23. Chapter XXIII: Lifetimes

**Disclaimer: **This chapter deals with a subject of a very serious nature. It was not my intention to offend anyone, and I apologize in advance for anyone who takes exception to it's content. 

~ ~ ~  

Finally, the two of them were alone.

Tommy wasn't the most romantic person in the world, but he could tell that Jen had gone out of her way to prepare for the evening. The scent of roses was in the air as soon as he stepped in, and the only lights in the room were two candles lit on the table in the dining room. _'Jen really went all out for this,'_ he thought to himself, noticing how dim the lights were.

He stepped around the corner, only to see Jen in a long, black evening gown. It was very low cut, very revealing, quickly getting Tommy's undivided attention. 

"You look… wow," he managed to mumble.

"So do you," she sighed, though Tommy himself felt a bit underdressed in a pair of jeans and a red tank top.

"So um, what did you want to talk to me about?" he asked.

"We have all night for that. First, I made you dinner," she said.

"Really?"

"Yes. Tonight I'm going to tell you everything that I've always…" she was interrupted when.

_'Captain Logan to Tommy. Respond,'_ a voice said.

She didn't have to say a thing; Tommy saw the frustration on Jen's face the second the morpher went off. "Go ahead, duty calls," she sighed.

Tommy reluctantly reached for his morpher. "What is it Captain?" he asked.

_'You know I hate to bother you when you're off duty, but there's a priority message coming in from a distant galaxy. You should report to the science lab,'_ he said.

"With all due respect sir, don't Trip and Camille handle the priority messages, especially ones from another galaxy?" he brought up.

_'Under normal circumstances, yes, but this message is addressed to you,'_ he said.

"What? Me?"

_'Like I said Lt., I think you should get down here,'_ he said.

"On the way," he sighed, and then turned to Jen, only to see she was gone. "Jen," he called out.

Jen walked into the room zipping up her uniform. "I'm coming with you, you made need some help," she said.

He smiled. "Thanks Jen,"

(*)

The two of them walked in the science lab where they Trip and Captain Logan were already standing near the communications panel.

"What's going on?" Tommy asked.

"The signal is very weak, we wanted to do a signal boost before you got here," Trip said, going over the calculations one more time.

"You said something about it being addressed to Tommy," Jen brought up.

"There's no way to verify we enhance the signal, but our best guess is its coming from the Torias sector," Captain Logan said, turning to Tommy. "You know anyone in the Torias sector?"

"I don't think so. Who would even know I was here?"

"We're about to find out," Trip said as it input the final command sequence. Just then, the view screen above the panel blinked on. 

There was on a man on the screen with brownish blonde hair and glasses. He appeared to be in his early twenties and a gentle smile. The others had no idea who it was, but Tommy recognized him the moment he saw him.

"Billy?" he inquired.

"Long time no see Tommy. Real long time," he said.

"You look so young, how…" he was cut short.

"The subspace channel is very weak, I'll explain everything when I arrive," he said.

"You're coming to Earth?"

"According to my readings, I should be there in about 37 minutes. I'll be landing just outside of Silver Hills near the shore, meet me there," he said.

Before Tommy had a chance to respond, the communication's signal was lost. Tommy hurried over to the panel. "Can we get the signal back?" he asked.

"No, it was weak. I was surprised it lasted as long as it did," Trip said.

"Who was that?" Jen inquired.

"That was Billy Cranston. He was a power ranger, a long time ago," he said.

"Surely you don't mean the same Billy Cranston who designed the turbo megazord, the original blue ranger Zordon selected to defend the Earth?" Captain Logan asked.

"That's him,"

"But how? He should be over 1000 years old," Trip mentioned.

"So should I," he brought up.

"Your situation is unique. If you plan on going, I suggest you take Jen and the others with you. It could be a trap," the Captain said.

Tommy shook his head. "No, its okay. I have to go see what's going on with Billy. If I need you guys, I'll call," he said as he pointed at his morpher, then hurried out the lab.

"You want us to switch on the cloak and follow him?" Jen inquired.

"No, Tommy seems to trust this guy. We'll see how it plays out," Captain Logan told them.

~

Tommy stood on the shore overlooking the river just outside Silver Hills. It was strange, considering how the level of technology had changed over the last millennia, how advanced society had become, the shore had remained almost untouched by evolution. The sun was beginning to set behind the mountains as he waiting, picking up small rocks and throwing them into the river.

He recalled the last time he saw Billy; he'd created some type of regenerator, but it had some unforeseen side effects. Billy had begun to age rapidly, and with no signs of a cure in sight, they were convinced it would die of old age in a matter of days. Cestro and the other Alien rangers of Aquitar suggested that they would be able to help, taking Billy to their planet to be cured. Although Billy later sent word back to the Earth, that he was okay, that the last any of them ever saw of Billy.

Until now……

In the distance, Tommy could see the ship making its approach. The ship itself wasn't very big, just enough room to fit one, maybe two people. It had a sleek silver design with a blue streak along the side. _'Just like Billy to add a personal touch to it,'_ Tommy thought.

The ship landed on the shore, and seconds later, a small hatch opened. Smoke escaped through the hatch, and through the smoke, _he_ stepped out.

"Tommy?" he called out.

"Billy," he said, walking over to him. The two of them wrapped their arms around one another. "Its good to see you man," he said.

"Thanks," he paused. "And actually, its William now," he corrected.

"What brings you all the way back to Earth Bil.. I mean, William?" Tommy asked.

"I'm here because I want you to kill me," he said.

(*)

"You want him to do what?" Camille snapped as the six of them sat around a table, discussing the issue.

Tommy knew that this wasn't a decision he could handle alone, so he and William headed back to Time Force headquarters.

"When I originally left Earth over 1000 years ago, it was because I had a rare condition that forced my aging process to accelerate exponentially. Cestro took me to Aquitar, where they're water supply had a regenerating effect on me. Within days, I was young again, and there were no signs of the condition at all. I opted to stay on Aquitar to aid the rangers against a race of warriors known as the Vorhsoth, and when the war was over, I vowed to help rebuild Aquitar with them. By the time I was ready to come home, it was fifty or sixty years later. I knew that all my friends were long since dead from old age, not to mention I didn't want to leave behind my wife and three sons, so I stayed. I watched my children grow, and my grandchildren, and my great grandchildren, and my _great _great grandchildren. There's been so many now I can barely keep count anymore, but I'm a young as I was the day I left Earth 1000 years ago," he explained.

"If there was something in the water, why did they age but you didn't?" Trip asked.

"The Aquitarian people knew they're water had regenerating effects, but it is extremely limited with them. Because I wasn't Aquitarian, the water slowed down my aging process by over 10,000%. At this rate, it will be about 4000 years before I age," he said.

"But why do you want Tommy to kill you?" Katie asked.

"Do you know what it's like seeing everyone you love die? It cuts like a knife, and when you finally do get to a point where you can live with the pain, someone else dies. And another. And another. And another. Everyone who ever meant anything to me had been dead for hundreds of years, and anyone who will ever mean anything to me will eventually die as well. All humans dream of living forever, but I've done it, and it's a living hell," he told them.

"How did you know Tommy was here?"

"Word gets around the galaxy pretty quickly. In my free time – and believe me I have a lot of it – I monitor what happens here on Earth. News broadcasts didn't have very many details on how it happened, but when I heard that Tommy was here, I set a course for Earth," William said.

"I understand what you're going through Billy, but I can't kill you or anyone else," Tommy said.

"Why don't you just leave Aquitar altogether and come back to Earth? If you stayed here, you wouldn't be exposed to their water supply and your aging process would return to normal," Trip suggested.

"I've thought of that, but it would take at least another 1000 years for the effects the water had on me to wear off and allow my body to age naturally again. I've lived a full life, I've done more than I ever dreamed I'd do able to do, but its over now," he said.

"I can't do it," Tommy insisted.

"Tommy, you're the only person that _can_ do it. I wouldn't dream of asking my family on Aquitar to do it, but you can understand better than anyone what its like to be away from everyone that ever meant anything to you. Think about it; Kim is dead, your children, Trini, Zach, Jason, Katherine, Adam, all of them are gone. We're alone Tommy, but I can't deal with it anymore," he said.

"I'm not alone. I have Jen," he paused. "And the other rangers," he added.

Jen cracked a smile.

"And that's fine for you because eventually, you'll pass away like the rest of them. Not me, I'll be here for another 4000 years before I even start to get older. Think about that Tommy; I'll be here in the year 7000, and then probably live for another 50 or sixty years after that. I can't do it anymore Tommy, I just can't," he told him.

"Maybe I can help," Camille said, injecting herself into the conversation.

"How?"

"Do you a sample of the water with you?" she asked.

"I have some aboard the ship I came in, why?"

"Trip and I may be able to analyze it and come up with a way to counter the effects," she mentioned.

"I've tried to do that for hundreds of years on Aquitar, what makes you think you'll have any more success than I had?" he asked, not realizing how rude it sounded until it was too late.

"Because Time Force specializes in that. When the first Chryo containment modules were created, we had a find a way to ensure that the aging processed was slowed down so criminals wouldn't die of old age in containment," Trip said.

"We can crosscheck the data we had from the preliminary containment modules with the molecular structure of the water sample. We should be able to reverse whatever the water is doing to you," she added.

"Then you could come back to Earth and live a normal life again. You could die of old age like the rest of us," Katie said.

"Thank you, all of you," William sighed.

(*)

Tommy and Jen stood in the doorway as Trip, Camille and William worked in Trip's private lab. It seemed a little more sophisticated than the lab at Time Force, but a lot smaller. The three of them were mumbling to one another, something about warped DNA, cellular structures and re-sequencing molecules. All technical stuff, all of it over Tommy's heads.

"You're worried about your friend, aren't you?" she asked, putting her hand on his shoulder for comfort.

"William? No, I'm sure they'll find something. I'm just thinking about some of the things he said. If I'd lived 1000 years like he had, watching everyone who loved me die, I would feel the same way he does. I would welcome death," he said.

"You don't feel alone like he said, do you?"

"No. Like I said, I have you and the others. At first I found himself wanting to go back to the friends I left behind, but I knew that wasn't going to happen. It didn't take long, but I grew to love the life I was making for myself here. I talked to Alex the other day and he said I was up for a promotion in a few weeks. I love it here now, I love you," she glanced up at him. "And the other rangers. You're like family to me now," he said.

She paused. "When you say family, do you mean like a _sister_ or like a distance cousin you haven't seen in a while?" she asked. The last thing she wanted to hear from Tommy was that he didn't think of her in_ that_ way.

Tommy leaned down, kissing her gently on the lips. "Does that answer your question?" he replied.

Jen hadn't even opened her eyes again yet, simply lingering on the kiss she'd been waiting for since the moment she saw him. "You may have to remind me again," she mentioned.

"It's a date," he sighed.

"That's it!" Camille yelled.

Tommy and Jen raced into the room. "What is it? What do you have?" he asked.

"I've isolated the agents in the Aquitarian water that effects the human body. It looks like an isotope of some kind, probably indigenous to Aquitar. Now that we know the cause, I can use the data from the Chryo containment units to reverse the effect and put it back to normal," she said.

"How long will it take?"

"I'll have to re-sequence the isotope with a modified spectro……"

"How long will it take?" he repeated, interrupting her.

"Done," she said.

"Really?"

"Um, yeah. The same isotopes in the water sample you brought can be reversed, but the problem is if you take too much, the process will speed up and you'll begin to age faster than your body can handle," she said. "All you have to do is drink this, but in moderation," she told him, holding up a flask with green-ish fluid inside.

"How long before it begins to work?" William asked.

"It should take effect immediately. The isotopes in the Aquitarian water were just that, watered down. We've reversed those isotopes and by removing them from the water, they should have more potency," Trip explained.

"Excellent. Thank you, all of you," he said.

"Now that you're a regular joe again, you may even want to consider a career in Time Force. They could always use someone with your knowledge and experience in the…" he stopped as he saw William pick up the flask with the isotopes in it, drinking it all down in one gulp. "What the hell are you doing?" he yelled.

"I'll finally be at peace now. Goodbye my friend," he sighed as he stood up, but stumbled over, falling to the floor as the isotopes began to take effect.

The five of them watched in amazement as William grew older in front of his eyes. He went from the young man Tommy remembered to a withering old man. His skin began to winkle until finally they couldn't even recognize him. From what they could tell, he didn't seem to be in any pain as he looked up at Tommy one last time. With the last of his strength, William reached out and grabbed Tommy's hand.

"I'm right here man," Tommy sighed.

William managed to crack a smile before his eyes glazed over for the last time.

"I'll call a coroner," Katie sighed as she walked out the room.

Camille walked over to Tommy, wrapping her arms around him. "Are you okay old man?" she asked.

"Yeah," he lied, making no attempt to control his emotions as tears rolled down his face.

"Come on Tommy, lets go home," Jen sighed.

~ ~ ~ 

**For my mother:** A. Elaine Livingston 1/26/54 – 10/23/02   

**I miss you**


	24. Chapter XXIV: Shift into Lightspeed

"I think we're done over here," Camille called out as she and Trip finished the last of the modifications.

The two of them had been working for hours, doing back and forth with different ideas and concepts. It was the one thing that attracted her to Trip the most: the way his mind worked, the way he came up with designs for things that no one else could even conceive. Well, except maybe for her. After years of being in Time Force academy, graduating at the top of her class and receiving awards and accolades in the temporal mechanics field, she set her sights on the honor programs the academy had to offer. She took advanced mechanics courses, attended field trips to other worlds to learn as much as she could. When she returned, Time Force deemed her one of the foremost scientific minds in the organization. 

She used her knowledge to develop systems for Time Force itself, things that even now the average officer took for granted. Even the concept for the Slipstream was originally her idea, but lacked the resources to make it a reality. The Slipstream was based on _her_ research, the same research that forced the organization to release her. She was only unemployed for about a month, but during that time several other organizations inquired about her services. A scientist of her caliber was always in high demand, but Time Force was the only one who would allow her to work on her project. 

When Time Force called her back to work on the Slipstream, she was against it. She was convinced they'd stick her in a room full of cadets fresh out the academy that all thought they were experts in their fields. It wasn't until she heard she'd be working with Trip that she decided to accept their offer. Trip's reputation was well known in the scientific community, and his ability to process information and perform calculations was impressive to say the least.

She even recalled a time during her senior year at the academy that Trip gave a lecture to her class, going over the fundamentals of temporal mechanics and how, in the next decade, it would be the most important aspect of Time Force. It was Trip who inspired her to take the honors programs. She wanted nothing more than to have an intelligent debate with him, and now, she was living her dream. She was working side by side with thee most respected scientist in his field, and she loved every minute of it.

Her thoughts were broken as Jen, Tommy and Katie walked over to the control panel, looking at her work.

"What do our two geniuses have for us today?" Jen asked.

It was Trip who turned around to face them. "Watch this," he said as he put his morpher on his wrist, then pressed a button. Almost instantly, a pair of jeans, green sweater and a pair of gym shoes replaced his Time Force uniform.

"Nice sweater Trip," Katie mumbled sarcastically.

"The sweater isn't important. What _is_ important is that Camille and I have found a way to tap into a space between dimensions and store things there," he said.

"Can you tell us again, but in English?" Tommy asked.

It was Camille who stood up. "When we morph, our uniforms are stored in a rift in subspace. When we call for our weapons, or for the Vector Cycles, our morphers open a slight rift in subspace allowing them to come through, which is why no matter where we are, they come to us instantly. Trip and I have found a way to access that layer of subspace and store things, leaving them there until we need them," she explained.

"That would come in handy on missions. Instead of trying to find a way to blend in, we can have clothes or equipment waiting for us in this subspace rift and use our morpher to activate them," Trip added.

"Excellent work you two," Jen sighed.

"How long will it take for you to modify the morphers?" Katie asked.

"That's the beauty of it, we don't _have_ to modify them at all. All we have to do is store all things we need in subspace, then call for it when we need it," he said.

"Give it a try," Camille said.

Tommy reached for his morpher, pressing a button, and instantly, his ranger uniform was replaced by pink skirt and a black cut off shirt. "What the hell?" he mumbled.

Katie and Jen laughed at his expense as Trip turned back to the control panel. "Okay, it still has a few bugs in the system, but it won't take long to fix," he said.

Just then, the doors to the science lab opened as Captain Logan walked in, getting a good look at Tommy. "Going for a new look Tommy?" he asked.

"No sir,"

"Thank God, you don't have the legs for it," he said, giving in to the urge to laugh at him.

Trip turned back around. "Okay, try again," he said.

Tommy reached for his morpher and pressed the button again, this time replacing his clothes with a pair of black jeans and a red button up shirt. "Much better," he said.

"Impressive," Captain Logan admitted.

"And the best part is we can store almost anything in the rift. We've scanned the interior of the rift and there's more than enough room for anything; vehicles, equipment, clothes, weapons, anything," Camille said.

"That's great, but now that you're all finished playing dress up, can we get to work?" Katie asked.

Captain Logan took his position in front of the control panel for the Slipstream. "I've set the timer this time for two hours. You know the drill: get in there, find out what you can without altering the time line and get back," he told them.

"Understood sir," Jen said.

The Captain activated the portal, and the blue swirling vortex appeared.

"We'll be back in time for dinner," Tommy said as they stepped through the portal, disappearing.

(*)

He sat in a room full of scientists and military leaders, all of them with cold, emotionless expressions on their faces. It wasn't the first time he'd been to NASADA, but it was the first time he'd been asked to sit in on one of their meetings. Whatever they were planning, whatever the military were about to do, they wanted him to be a part of it.

He didn't have to wait long as another man in uniform walked in. Judging by the expressions on the other's faces when he walked in, it was easy to assume he must have been a high ranking officer.

"Thank you all for coming," he stood a seat at the end of the table. "I've asked that Mr. Jarvis Jr. be allowed to join us for today's briefing. After all, he was instrumental in saving the Earth from Astronema a few weeks ago," he said, motioning to him.

"Please, just call me TJ," he said as he stood up slightly, sitting back down.

"As you all know, relief efforts have been launched to salvage what was can of the city. There was heavy damage, but I'm pleased to report there were very little causalities during the battle. The rangers successfully defended our planet until the leadership of Mr. Jar… excuse me, TJ, and we are all in his debt, but the government feels its time for a new group of rangers to defend the planet," he stood up, walking over to a television monitor and cut it on. "This is a image of the Aqua Base in Mariner Bay, California. It lays approximately a half-mile under water. It is my belief that all revenue be transferred to the development of this facility, where we will design the very first man made ranger technology," he explained.

TJ stood up. "With all due respect sir, the other rangers and I still have our powers. I don't see why would you want to dedicate funding to developing new rangers. Shouldn't the money go towards the launching of Terra Venture?" he asked.

"Under normal circumstances, you would be right. Although you and the rangers saved our world, there is no guarantee that another attack won't take place. Therefore, Project: Terra Venture was created. Our plan is to take half of the world's leading scientific minds, political leaders, doctors, etc, place them on this station and search for a new, inhabitable world. Construction of Terra Venture is complete, and within the next few weeks, we will determine which civilians will be allowed to travel to the new world to help populate our new planet," he turned to TJ directly. "I'll be honest with you son; over the years the government was more than patient with Zordon, allowing him to choose his own soliders to face alien races and defeat enemies we couldn't begin to understand. He assured us that as long as he was here, the Earth would be safe from such attacks, but now Zordon is gone. If something were to happen to the morphers, cause them to malfunction, there would be no one on the planet that could even begin to repair them. That's why it is of the utmost importance that we establish our own morphers, our own rangers, that we will select and train. If anything were to happen to their morphers, they could be repaired. With that, I'd like to turn attention to Ms. Angela Fairweather," he motioned towards her as she stood up, putting her glasses on. "Ms. Fairweather is the head scientist in charge of the development of Operation: Lightspeed Rescue," he said, turning the floor over to her.

"Before his untimely demise, Zordon was gratious enough to allow our government a look at the schematics for the morphers. Since then, I've been able to find a similar power source, and preliminary tests prove that within six months time, I can be tested and approved for use," she explained.

"I'm sorry, I have to object," TJ said, standing up again.

"This isn't a courtroom son, this is a meeting. We're not asking for your permission, but telling you what our plans are. The general was kind enough to invite you to this meeting because of what you've done for the city, but we're not looking for your permission or your approval," one of the men said.

"Captain Mitchell is right Mr. Jarvis, your permission is not needed for this. However, you are the most experienced person in this room when it comes to the morphers and their technology. It was our sincerest hope that you would accept the position of head adviser to Ms. Fairweather and assist her in the development of the new morphers," the general said.

TJ stood up, glancing around the room. _'Look at all of them, it hasn't even been a month yet and they're ready to push us to the side to make room for new rangers,'_ he thought to himself. Ms. Fairweather, who was sitting next to him, looked at him with a warm smile. It was obvious she wasn't part of any government conspiracy to replace he and the other rangers, but he still refused to help them develop new rangers. _'They don't know what they're getting themselves into,'_ he thought.

"Thank you for your offer general, but I can't accept," TJ said.

"Is there anything we can do to persuade you to reconsider your position?" he asked.

"With all due respect sir, you don't know what you're doing. Ranger technology isn't to be played with, and should be left to beings that know how to control it. Man made ranger technology sounds like a good idea, but in the wrong hands could lead to the destruction of……"

He was cut short by the general. "Thank you for you time Mr. Jarvis. Dismissed," he said.

With a disgusted look on his face, TJ grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair, put it on and stormed out the room. He headed down the wall, but was stopped by a guard.

"You're him, aren't you?"

"Him who?" he asked.

"One of the rangers. TJ, the blue space ranger. I was there when you and the others stopped Astronema. I was proud to be an American that day, do you think I could have your autograph?" the guard inquired.

It was something TJ had to get use to. Over the last few weeks, dozens of people had walked up to him, wanting to shake his hand or asking for an autograph. Some women even offered to marry him, or worse, wanted him to marry their daughters. It was very flattering at first, but part of him regretted letting the world know who he was.

"Sure," he sighed.

The guard handed him a pen and a pad of paper. "Can you make it out to Marshall Evans?" he asked.

TJ took the pen, mumbling to himself as he wrote. "To Marshall, a true American hero. May the power protect you, TJ,"

"Thank you sir, this means a lot to me," he said.

"No problem," TJ said as he continued to walk.

~

As soon as he made it outside, he headed over to his car. The government had seen fit to buy he and the other rangers new cars, and give them homes to live in. He was thankful for all of it, but knew the world wasn't ready to deal with what they were about to create.

As he opened his car door, a vortex of some sort appeared in the air just over his car. He took a step back as the swirling vortex seemed to get bigger. Then it happened……

Jen came through the portal, falling and landing on the car. No sooner did she roll off the car, Camille, Katie and Trip came through as well. All of them rolled off the car, dusting themselves off. Finally, it was Tommy who came through, falling towards the car, but managed to do a flip and land on his feet next to the car.

"That's never happened before," Camille mentioned as they all stared up at the vortex as it began to disappear.

"Probably a problem with the targeting sensors. I'll take a look at them when we get back," Trip said.

"Guys," Jen called out as she turned around, noticing TJ standing in front of them with an amazed look on his face.

It was Tommy who recognized him. "TJ?" he inquired.

"Tommy?" he paused, getting a good look at him. "Wow, its good to see you again," he said, walking over to him and extending hand to him.

"You too man," Tommy said as they shook.

"So much for not interacting with people and altering the time line," Katie mumbled.

"What just happened? Where did you come from? How did you……" TJ was cut short.

"It's better that you _not_ ask questions," Jen told him.

"Where are Katherine and the others?"

"That's a tough question to answer. I'll just say they're safe," he glanced over TJ's shoulder, looking at the building behind him. "NASADA? You work for NASADA now?" Tommy asked.

"No, but they wanted me to. The government is trying to establish the first ever man made ranger technology," he said.

"Yeah, Operation: Lightspeed," Camille mentioned.

"I'm trying to tell them they don't know what they're doing. The world isn't ready for homemade rangers, and we should be focusing on getting Terra Venture off the ground," he explained.

"This must be shortly after Dark Specter organized the Alliance of Evil and set out to take over the universe," Jen mumbled to the others.

"If Terra Venture hasn't even launched yet, I'd speculate that this is the year 1999, give or take a few months," Trip noted.

"Wait a sec, what's going on?" TJ demanded to know.

"Sorry man, I can't explain it. Just trust me when I say that everything will be okay," Tommy told him as the five of them hurried away.

(*)

"I still don't see why we couldn't tell TJ what was happening. I trusted him with my identity a long time ago, and he kept my secret. He would be able to keep this a secret too," Tommy insisted as they walked.

Jen stopped, turning to him. "Tommy, understand that TJ was carefully selected to replace you as red turbo ranger. We made sure that he was in the right place at the right time when Piranhatrons captured you and Katherine. Believe me, I know the kind of person that TJ is, but we can't……" she was cut short.

"Are you telling me that Time Force had something to do with TJ and Cassie saving us?" he asked.

"I'm telling you that history has to play itself out, and sometimes, its Time Force's responsibility to make sure that everything goes the way its suppose to," she said.

"So you're telling me that TJ is trustworthy enough to allow him to take my morpher and keep my identity a secret, but we can't tell him why we're here or where we're from?" he asked.

"Exactly,"

_'You may have to tell him Jen,'_ they heard a voice say.

It was Camille who reached for her morpher. "What do you know Captain?" she asked.

'History logs state that Zordon's energy wave cleansed the galaxy of all evil, but evil, like any other energy in the universe, cannot be destroyed. All the negative energy somehow manifested in space, creating a being of pure evil. It has no soul, no conscious, no mercy, and according to the history logs, its on it's way to Earth,' he explained. 

"Wait a sec, I've read about this in _our_ history logs. You're talking about Shin Getti, aren't you?" Trip asked.

_'Yes,'_ he said.

"If that's true, and it is Shin Getti, he isn't supposed to get to Earth until the year 2005. The Earth should be safe for another six years," Katie said.

_'No. Shin Getti originally came to Earth shortly before the launch of Terra Venture. He was captured and trapped in the Shadow World by a group of rangers,' _he said.

"But they aren't going to be any other rangers on Earth until the development of the Lightspeed morphers. Who is supposed to stop Shin Getti?" Tommy asked.

"I think that's where I come in," TJ said as he walked over to them.


	25. Chapter XXV: Shift into Lightspeed 2

"Sorry man, I can't explain it. Just trust me when I say that everything will be okay," Tommy told him as the five of them hurried away.

TJ put his hands on his hips as he watched the five of the walk around the corner. _'Something about those uniforms are familiar,'_ he thought to himself, trying to place where he'd seen them before. It didn't take him very long to figure it out. _'That day in the woods, when Cassie and me saved Tommy and Katherine. I saw a man wearing a uniform just like that one, but he had on sunglasses,' _he recalled.

Finally, it was all beginning to take sense……

Whoever those people were with Tommy, they were obviously from the future. They had to be. They appeared from a hole in the sky, and they were talking about events that hadn't happened as if they were past tense. _'They have to be from the future, but how did Tommy get involved with them?'_ he wondered.

He knew there was only one way to find out, follow them. He crept around the corner as quietly as he could, ducking down behind a dumpster as the five of them thought.

"I still don't see why we couldn't tell TJ what was happening. I trusted him with my identity a long time ago, and he kept my secret. He would be able to keep this a secret too," Tommy insisted as they walked.

TJ cracked a smile.

Jen stopped, turning to him. "Tommy, understand that TJ was carefully selected to replace you as red turbo ranger. We made sure that he was in the right place at the right time when Piranhatrons captured you and Katherine. Believe me, I know the kind of person that TJ is, but we can't……" she was cut short.

"Are you telling me that Time Force had something to do with TJ and Cassie saving us?" he asked.

"I'm telling you that history has to play itself out, and sometimes, its Time Force's responsibility to make sure that everything goes the way its suppose to," she said.

_'I knew it,'_ TJ thought to himself, remembering the man standing in the woods wearing the exact same uniform.

"So you're telling me that TJ is trustworthy enough to allow him to take my morpher and keep my identity a secret, but we can't tell him why we're here or where we're from?" he asked.

"Exactly,"

_'You may have to tell him Jen,'_ they heard a voice say.

TJ continued to watch on as one of them reached for the morpher on her wrist. "What do you know Captain?" she asked.

'History logs state that Zordon's energy wave cleansed the galaxy of all evil, but evil, like any other energy in the universe, cannot be destroyed. All the negative energy somehow manifested in space, creating a being of pure evil. It has no soul, no conscious, no mercy, and according to the history logs, its on it's way to Earth,' a voice explained. 

"Wait a sec, I've read about this in _our_ history logs. You're talking about Shin Getti, aren't you?" Trip asked.

_'Yes,'_ he said.

"If that's true, and it is Shin Getti, he isn't supposed to get to Earth until the year 2005. The Earth should be safe for another six years," Katie said.

_'No. Shin Getti originally came to Earth shortly before the launch of Terra Venture. He was captured and trapped in the Shadow World by a group of rangers,' _he said.

"But they aren't going to be any other rangers on Earth until the development of the Lightspeed morphers. Who is supposed to stop Shin Getti?" Tommy asked.

Finally, TJ had heard enough. He came from behind the dumpster, walking over to them. "I think that's where I come in," TJ said, folding his arms.

"What are you doing here man?" Tommy asked.

"I was going to ask you the same question," he mentioned.

"This doesn't concern you," Jen said, stepping between the two of them.

"Sounds to me like it does. Whoever this Shin Getti is, you're going to need someone to stop him," he turned to Jen. "If I'm right, none of you are allowed to get involved, so that leaves me and the other rangers," he said.

"You have no idea what you're getting yourself in……" she was cut short.

"Lets hear him out Jen," Tommy said, stepping forward.

"Right now Andros, Shane and Karone are on KO-35 helping the rebels rebuild, and the morphers are locked in the power vault onboard the Megaship, but I still have my turbo morpher here. Cassie and Ashley will help if I ask them, and I'm sure I can find Justin," he told them.

"I thought the Turbo powers were destroyed," Camille brought up.

"Power can't be destroyed, only transferred. Before we followed Divatox into space, we transferred out power and our morphers back to the zords. We thought that we'd come back for them one day, but then we met Andros and we didn't need to," he paused. "You guys may be right, we might be in over our heads with Shin Getti, but we're the only chance the world has right now," TJ explained.

"After your battle with Divatox, the turbo morphers should be extremely low on power. It would take a huge amount of energy to bring them back to full power," Trip mentioned.

"Any theories?" Jen asked.

"What about the Lightspeed rangers?" Camille asked.

"The new morphers won't be ready for another six months, and it will take over six to assemble their team," Katie mentioned.

"There was a woman in the meeting I just came from – Ms. Fairweather. She said they'd found a suitable power source for the new morphers. Couldn't we adapt that power source for the turbo morphers?" TJ asked.

"More than likely the power supplies won't be compatible. I doubt they could even be modified to give the turbo morphers enough energy for what you're trying to do," Camille said.

"What about the Galaxy rangers? Couldn't we call them for help?" Tommy asked.

"If I know my history, Leo and the others don't even have the Quasar Sabers yet. The Earth is defenseless," Camille said.

"What if I _borrowed _the new morphers?" TJ asked.

"I don't think you could walk into the Aqua Base and say '_excuse me, I'd like to use your morphers. I'll bring them back when I'm done_,'" Katie pointed out.

"Then I'll just have to borrow them without permission," he said.

"We don't exactly have a lot of options here," Trip said.

"That settles it. I'm going to get in touch with Cassie and the others. We'll get the new morphers and do what we can to defend the Earth. Zordon would want it that way," TJ sighed, extending his hand to Jen.

Jen glanced back at the others, tacitly asking for their approval. It was Camille who nodded, speaking for the entire group. Finally, Jen reached out, accepting TJ's hand. "We can't interfere, but we'll help any way we can," she told him as they shook.

(*)

Captain Mitchell and Ms. Fairweather walked through the halls of the newly built Aqua Base. It was truly an impressive sight, almost as impressive as the schematics for Terra Venture.

When the government originally confronted her with the idea of building morphers with an Earth based power source, she was convinced it wouldn't happen. The thought of giving one person _that_ much power didn't seem feasible. To harness _that_ much power and compress it into something as small as a morpher seemed…… a little far fetched. It wasn't until she was shown a blueprint of a morpher that she was able to come up with an all new design. The new morphers were a bit bigger than the originals, but in theory, would be able to do the job.

"You seem worried Angela," Captain Mitchell said as the two of them turned the corner, walking into what appeared to be the main control center.

"I am. Frankly, I was hoping that Mr. Jarvis would accept our offer to work with us on Operation: Lightspeed," she said.

"I have the utmost confidence in you Angela. I'm sure you'll be able to do it without him," he told her.

She shook her head. "That's just it, I can't do it without him. I can design a morpher, build all new zords from the ground up, but we're lacking a conduit strong enough to handle the power source necessary to activate them," she said.

"But in the meeting, you said that we……"

"I know I said I would have them working in six months, but that was when I thought Mr. Jarvis was going to work with us. Until we find a conduit strong enough to maintain power to the morphers, they might as well be oversized watches," she said.

"So what are you saying? That the government pumped out over two million dollars in money for research, development and supplies so they could have fancy watches? There has to be a way to get those morphers working without Mr. Jarvis' help," he said.

"I'm afraid there isn't," she sighed.

(*)

Ashley found herself sitting on the porch, staring up into the sky again. It had only been a few weeks since Andros and the others headed to KO-35 to help the rebels access the damage to the planet. After the battle, she was convinced that Andros would stay with her, but it only took him few weeks to head back to his homeworld.

The ironic part was, he asked her to come along. They'd been to KO-35 before, and she thought it was one of the most beautiful planets she'd ever seen (not that she'd seen a lot of different ones). There were a lot of things about KO-35 that were similar to Earth, but a few differences as well. When he asked her to go, she found herself debating on if she should go or not. She understood that the planet would need all the help it could get, but on the same hand, so did Earth. She'd been an active part in helping clean the city, doing what she could as they prepared to rebuild buildings that were destroyed during the assault.

Plus she had to admit, she loved the attention……

Everywhere she went, someone would stop her and ask to take a picture with her, or wanted an autograph. After being a turbo ranger for a few months, then a space ranger for almost a year, she began to think that no one on Earth would ever know what she'd done. It was a thankless job, saving the world countless times over, but now, she was being recognized for what she'd done.

"If you were just going to sit around sulking about it, you should have just gone with him," she heard a voice say from behind. 

She turned around and saw Cassie step through the front door, handing her a glass of juice. "I am not sulking, just admiring the sky," she mentioned.

"The same way you've been admiring the sky since Andros left, right? He'll be back, don't worry so much," she told her, sitting down next to her on the porch.

"I know, I just wish I had a way to contact him," she said, rubbing her wrist slightly, wishing she still had her morpher.

"Hey, I saw Justin the other day," Cassie brought up, changing the subject.

"Really? When?"

"I was down at Angel Grove Hall doing a charity benefit to raise money, and Justin came down there. He's a lot taller now, and it looks like he's been working out," she said.

"Good for him,"

Just then, they were interrupted when TJ's convertible pulled up into the driveway. He stepped out the car, throwing his jacket over his shoulder as he walked over to them. "Hello ladies," he said cheerfully.

"Hey TJ, its good to see you," Cassie said warmly.

"Do you guys have a minute? I need to talk to you about something important," he said.

Ashley and Cassie looked at one another, then back at him. "Yeah, of course. What is it?"

For the next few minutes, he explained everything to them; how the energy wave that cleansed the world also created a being of pure evil, how a group of rangers from the future warned him on the impending threat, and how the turbo morphers weren't going to be enough to stop Shin Getti.

"So what are you saying? We're just going to walk into the Aqua Base and _borrow_ these new morphers?" Ashley asked.

"There's a transport that delivers supplies to the Aqua Base everyday. All we have to do is hitch a ride on board. Once we get there, we shouldn't have a hard time finding the morphers," he said.

"Even if we do manage to get on board the Aqua Base and find the morphers, how would we get back without being noticed?" Cassie asked.

"I've got it all worked out. The transport that delivers supplies always waits fifteen minutes so that personnel on the base can unload the supplies and give them the empty containers. Once we get on the base, we'll have roughly fifteen minutes to find the morphers, get back the transport and get out of there," he explained.

"What about the other rangers you were telling us about, why can't they help?" she asked.

"They're from the future. Anything they would do would alter the time line," he said.

"By telling you what was going to happen, didn't _that_ alter the time line? Surely we weren't destined to break into the Aqua Base and steal the experimental morphers," Cassie mentioned.

"They didn't tell me, I overheard them. This is something we're going to have to do on our own. Who's with me?" he asked.

Ashley nodded. "Count me in,"

"Me too,"

"Good. We'll leave first thing in the morning," TJ told them.


	26. Chapter XXVI: Shift into Lightspeed 3

"If Time Force has a strict rule about non-interference, how is it that Time Force can be present at every major event in time to nudge things along?" Tommy asked them.

They'd managed to check themselves into a hotel room just outside of Angel Grove, using fake names. Jen and Katie were sitting across the table from him, waiting for Camille and Trip to return. 

"When time travel was originally developed, we feared that it would fall into the wrong hands. Time Force wasn't the only organization to have the ability to travel through time, so it became necessary to form Temporal Investigations. Rival companies would conspire to change history, to eliminate Time Force with even existing, making them the only company with the ability to travel through time. There have been occasions where someone attempts to change history, and Time Force is there to ensure that things go as they were meant to. For example; the day you and Katherine were captured, if Time Force hadn't intervened, you would have been destroyed. TJ and Cassie would have never met you, thus never been given the turbo powers. If not for that one event, future history would have been altered. They wouldn't have gone into space to join forces with Andros, Karone would have never rejoined her brother, and the alliance of evil would have taken over the universe," Jen explained.

"How can one event lead to so many different things?"

"All it takes is one thing. One leads to another, and another, and another; it's an ongoing thing. Even now, we're preparing for what will happen next week, or next month. Alex once told me that everything happens for a reason, that fate is only what we make it. I didn't understand him at first, but now that we work on the Slipstream project, I know what he was trying to say. Sometimes history needs to be nudged along," she told him.

"So everything is part of a grand design? Even me being frozen and thawed out 1000 years later was part of some master plan?" he asked.

"I don't understand all of it, but I know you being here has a purpose. We all play our part in destiny, but sometimes destiny has its own plans for us," she said.

Just then, the front door opened as Camille and Trip walked in, closing the door behind him. "TJ and the others are ready to go. The transport truck to the Aqua Base will be in position in about twenty minutes," Trip said.

"Very good. I want one of you to switch on the cloak and follow them just in case. If I recall, the Aqua Base had some very tight security," Jen said.

"I'll go," Katie said, standing up.

"Fine. Report in as soon as you know something," she said.

"Understood," she said, walking out the room.

(*)

Cassie, Ashley and TJ ducked down before a boulder as they watched security guards pull onto the beach in a transport truck. From the looks of it, there were two guards, a driver and a passenger. The sun was shining a little brighter than usual, making it hard for them to get a good look at what was going on. Each of them put a hand over their eyes to shield them from the light as one of the guards got out the truck.

He walked to the edge of the water and motioned to the other guard. Seconds later, something began to rise out of the water. It appeared to be a long, metallic bridge of some sort.

"That must lead to the Aqua Base," Ashley speculated.

"Come on, this is our chance," TJ said, silently motioning them to follow.

They hurried over to the truck, climbing in the back as the guard headed for the door… but he stopped.

"What is it?" the other guard asked.

"I thought I heard something," he answered, heading for the back of the truck to make sure.

It was at that moment that_ he_ showed up. "Hi," the young man said cheerfully as he walked over to the truck, stopping the guard from looking in the back.

"This is private property young man, you're not suppose to be here," the guard told him.

"I just wanted to go for a swim. Is that okay?" he asked.

"I said get out of here kid," he snapped, heading back for the door. As the guard climbed back inside the truck, TJ peeked out the back of the truck to see who it was.

"It's Justin," he whispered to the others.

Justin sat on the boulder, nodding slightly at TJ. TJ nodded back, and the truck headed inside the metallic tunnel.

~

The truck pulled into a cargo hold of some kind, and the second it stopped, Ashley and the others jumped out, ducking down behind some wooden crates at the far end of the room. The guards both stepped out the truck and began to unload the truck.

"You ever wonder what all this stuff is?" one of them asked.

"I'd tell you what they were, but I doubt you'd understand me," a woman said as she walked into the room with a clipboard in hand.

"Good afternoon Ms. Fairweather," the other guard said.

"Is this everything?" she asked, getting down to business.

"Yes ma'am. I need you to sign here on line 24," he said, handing her some papers. 

Ms. Fairweather took her glasses out her lab jacket pocket, slid them on and began to read over the papers. After getting a good look at them, she signed it and handed it back to him. "You can just unload them over there in the corner. I'll be back later on to inspect them," she told her.

"Yes ma'am," the guard said as she walked away.

"Jesus that babe has an ass," the other guard said.

"I heard that," Ms. Fairweather shouted just before she turned the corner.

"Dumbass," he said, shoving the other guard.

While they stacked the supplies in the corner, Cassie and the others snuck towards the door, ducking down a hallway. They snuck into the first room they came to, peeking around the corner. The room itself looked like a kitchen, or a cafeteria of some sort.

"Must be the mess hall," Ashley said.

"Ashley, you stay here and watch that transport. If it leaves before Cassie and I get back, just leave without us. We'll have to find another way out," TJ explained.

"I won't leave you in here," she said.

"We'll find another one," he repeated.

She sighed reluctantly. "Just be careful you two," she warned.

The two of them nodded, then quietly walked out the room, following Ms. Fairweather down the hallway.

  
~

Ms. Fairweather sat in the science lab of the Aqua Base, going over the schematics for the Lightspeed morphers. _'There has to be something I'm overlooking,'_ she thought to herself. Everything seemed to be in place; the power source was more than strong enough to generate the energy needed to morph, and the morphing sequences all seemed to be properly aligned, but that wasn't the problem. _'How do I connect them without it overloading? Come on Angie, think,'_ she thought.

She wrapped up in her thoughts, she didn't hear TJ and Cassie sneak into the room. TJ motioned for Cassie to go to the opposite side of the room, while he circled around on the other side. He quietly opened one of the storage lockers, but it was empty. Cassie tried another one, but no luck. It wasn't until they tried a third locker that Ms. Fairweather snapped out of her trance, turning around.

"What the…… how the hell did you two get in here?" she snapped.

TJ sighed. "We don't have time to explain. The world is in serious danger, we need the morphers," he told her.

"Let me guess, the most sinister force in the universe is on its way to Earth and you're the only one who can stop it, right?" she asked.

"Something like that," Cassie said.

"Listen, we really don't have time to explain it to you. We need the morphers," he said.

"Even if I believed you, the morphers are useless. Without the proper conduit to transfer the power, the morpher will overload and leave whoever wears it morphed permanently. Eventually the power would disrupt the nervous system and kill you," she told him.

"What if we told you we could solve that problem for you? Would you let us use the morphers?" he asked.

"How would you fix it?"

"Like I said Ms. Fairweather, there isn't much time," TJ said.

Reluctantly, Ms. Fairweather sighed. "Come with me," she told them, walking out the room.

~

_'They should have been back by now,'_ Ashley thought to herself as she watched the guards unload the last of the supplies in the cargo bay. Finally, she'd waited long enough, leaving the mess hall and walking back into the cargo bay.

"Excuse me, I think I got separated from my tour group. Can you show me where the bathroom is?" she asked, walking over to the guards.

"Hey, you aren't suppose to be……" he was cut short as she rammed an elbow in his chest, then an uppercut that knocked him up against the truck. As he fell to the ground, the other guard reached for a weapon. Ashley did a back flip, kicking the gun out of his hand. She caught the gun in mid air, landing on her feet and pointing it at him.

"All you had to do was tell me where the bathroom was," she told him.

"Don't hurt me," he sighed.

"I don't want to hurt you, I just need a ride out of here," Ashley said, cracking a smile.

~

Ms. Fairweather led them into a room, stopping at a panel against the wall. She removed her nametag, swiping it across a censor pad, and the panel itself opened. She reached in, pulling out five morphers.

"I'm telling you the truth, they don't work without……" she was cut short.

"We believe you, and we promise to bring these back to you. When we do, they'll be working just fine," TJ assured her.

 For the first time, Ms. Fairweather nodded with approval. "Good luck you two," she sighed.

Cassie smiled at her as the two of them rushed out the room and down the hallway. It didn't take them very long to get to the cargo bay, where Ashley stood over the unconscious body of a security guard and pointing a gun at the other.

"What took you guys so long?" she asked.

"We got what we came for, lets get out of here," TJ said.

Cassie and TJ jumped in the back of the truck while Ashley sat up front with the guard, pointing the gun at him as he drove back through the metal tunnel.

(*)

The truck made it back to the shore, where Justin was still sitting on the boulder waiting for them. Ashley got out the truck, giving the guard his gun back as TJ and Cassie hopped out the back. The three of them walked over to Justin.

"How did you know you would be here?" Ashley asked.

"Captain Mitchell and my father are good friends. After that meeting you had with the general, they thought you might try something and they asked me to keep an eye on you," he told him.

"Good thing you were here,"

"So, what are you guys up to?" he asked.

"How would you feel about going on one last mission with us?" Cassie replied.

Justin jumped off the boulder, landing next to them. "What are we waiting for? Lets do it," he said.

TJ nodded, and the four of them walked away.

(*)

TJ knocked on the hotel room door, and moments later, Jen opened the door, allowing them in.

"I take it your mission went well," she said.

"We got what we came for," TJ said, handing the morphers to her. "But Ms. Fairweather said something about them not working,"

"Did she say why?" Trip asked, walking over to them, picking one up.

"Something about the conduit not being able to transfer power or something," Cassie told him.

"Time Force had a similar problem when they originally designed the Chrono morphers. The power levels were on their highest setting, and the morphing sequences were on line, but there wasn't sufficient……"

"I have a feeling this is about to go over my head Trip. Just give it to me in English," Jen said.

"The power is working, but the wires that connect the power to the on switch can't handle the power," he said.

"Can you fix it?" Cassie asked.

"Its simply a matter of aligning the morphing conduits to……" he paused, glancing up at them. "Yes, I can, but I'll need at least one turbo morpher for parts," he told them.

It was Justin who reached in his back pocket, pulling out his morpher and handed it to him. "Are you saying after this, my morpher won't work anymore?" he asked.

"Your morpher doesn't have enough power to sustain your morphed form for very long anyway. I can use these conduits to run power through the new morphers, but no, the turbo morpher will never work again," he told him.

"Do what you have to," he sighed.

"So what's the plan you guys?" Ashley asked.

"According to the history logs, Shin Getti should arrive in Angel Grove in roughly two hours. That should be enough time for Trip and I to make the modifications to the morphers. Hopefully it will be enough to stop Shin Getti," Camille said.

"Where is Katie?" TJ asked, staring around the room.

At that moment, Katie materialized out of thin air. "Right here," she said cheerfully.

"Where did she come from?" Justin asked.

"I asked Katie to engage her cloak and follow you guys just in case something happened," Jen said.

"You mean she was with us the entire time?" Ashley asked.

"Actually, I was with _you_ most of the time. Nice work with the guards by the way," she said.

"Thanks,"

"Okay everyone, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but our ride will be here in about twenty five minutes. After that, you're on your own TJ," Tommy said, walking over to them.

"We'll do our best," TJ said.

"You always do."

"I'll have the modifications done on these morphers in about ten minutes, but who is going to get the fifth morpher?" Trip asked.

Cassie, TJ, Ashley and Justin looked at one another with confusion. "We hadn't thought about it," Cassie admitted.

"What about Carlos?" Ashley asked.

"After Captain Mitchell asked me to keep an eye on you guys, I tried to call him. I thought he would know something I didn't. I couldn't find him. I even went by his house, but his sister said he was out of town," Justin mentioned.

"We don't have a lot of time to recruit anyone," Katie said.

"I have someone in mind. You guys just finish the morphers, I'll be back," Tommy said as he reached for his morpher.

"Where are you going?" Jen asked.

"To get an old friend," he said, then disappeared into a stream of red light.


	27. Chapter XXVII: Shift into Lightspeed 4

"I'll have the modifications done on these morphers in about ten minutes, but who is going to get the fifth morpher?" Trip asked.

Cassie, TJ, Ashley and Justin looked at one another with confusion. "We hadn't thought about it," Cassie admitted.

"What about Carlos?" Ashley asked.

"After Captain Mitchell asked me to keep an eye on you guys, I tried to call him. I thought he would know something I didn't. I couldn't find him. I even went by his house, but his sister said he was out of town," Justin mentioned.

"We don't have a lot of time to recruit anyone," Katie said.

Tommy couldn't help but wonder if Jason and the other rangers questioned themselves the same way before he was given the white ranger powers. _'I wonder who Zordon would have picked if they couldn't find me,'_ he wondered. His mind began to wander… and that's when it occurred to him.

"I have someone in mind. You guys just finish the morphers, I'll be back," Tommy said as he reached for his morpher.

"Where are you going?" Jen asked.

"To get an old friend," he said, then disappeared into a stream of red light.

"We're done guys," Camille said as she and Trip finished the last of the modifications on the morphers. TJ, Justin, Cassie and Ashley stood in a straight line in front of Trip.

"Ashley, the yellow morpher belongs to you," he said as he handed her the yellow morpher.

She quickly put it on, silently comparing it to the turbo morpher she had grown accustomed to over the years. She noticed it was a bit heavier than her original morpher, but chose not to say anything about it.

"Cassie, the pink morpher is yours," Camille said, presenting her with the morpher. 

Cassie put it on, adjusting it to fit on her wrist comfortably. "I'd almost forgotten what it felt like to be a ranger," she sighed. 

"Justin, I believe blue is your color," he said, handing him the blue morpher. 

"Fits like an old glove," Justin said as he put it on his wrist, getting a feel for it as he admired the design.

"Actually, its _my_ color," TJ sighed, recalling his time as the blue space ranger.

"Naw, we thought you would look better in red," Camille said, handing him the red morpher.

TJ quickly slipped on his morpher. "Yeah, I could use to this again," he admitted.

"Well don't. Remember, as soon as this business with Shin Getti is over, you have to return the morphers to Ms. Fairweather. History has to proceed on it's natural course," Jen reminded them.

"I'm going to hold onto the green morpher until Tommy gets back with his _old friend_," Trip mentioned.

"I wonder who hes going to bring back," Cassie brought up.

"I hope its Adam," Ashley said eagerly.

"Or maybe the original green ranger," Justin suggested.

"Tommy _was_ the original green ranger," TJ told them.

"He was green _and_ white _and_ red? Geez, no wonder Dimitri made the guy retire," Cassie pointed out.

Just then, the light outside grew dim. They all raced over to the window as a black cloud began to fill the sky. Soon, it was pitch black, and they were barely able to see one another, much less out the window.

"Sometime tells me that's not rain," Katie said.

"You guys better get going. It looks like Shin Getti is making his appearance a little early," Jen said.

"Right," TJ said, speaking for the whole group.

"Remember, we won't be able to help you. Our portal opens in about three minutes, so you're on your own," Trip said.

"What about Tommy? And the new green ranger?" Cassie asked.

"We'll be able to reopen the portal for Tommy when he's ready. As for the green ranger, we can only hope that he or she joins you shortly," Trip said, setting the green morpher down on the table.

"Alright guys, lets do it one more time," Justin was eagerly.

"Good luck, and may the power protect you," she cracked a smile. "I've always wanted to say that," Camille giggled.

~

TJ and the others rushed into the center of town, where they looked to be an electrical storm of some kind. Lightning filled the sky, hitting buildings and destroying them on impact. They managed to stay out of the way of falling debris as it fell, but then _he_ materialized……

At first glance, it looked to be over seven feet tall. His body was a metallic color, with the exception of what looked to be heavy metal wrist bands and shin guards, which were a red-ish color. Because of his height, they couldn't get a good look at his face, but his eyes seemed to glow a sinister yellow.

"**Who dares stand before the great Shin Getti?**" a voice echoed from the huge figure.

It was TJ who took a step forward. "We're the Power Rangers, and your……" he was cut short as Shin Getti reached down, knocking TJ off his feet. TJ landed up against a brick wall, holding the back of his head in pain.

"**Silence pitiful humans,**" Shin Getti snapped.

"I've had just about enough of this guy. Lets do it guys," Ashley said, taking a step forward.

_"Shift into Lightspeed,"_ the three of them announced in unison. There was a flash of light as they clothes were replaced by the ranger uniforms.

The blue ranger made his move, going after Shin Getti with a series of kicks, but none of them seemed to be having an effect on him. The pink ranger followed up with a corkscrew kick, but Shin Getti grabbed her by the ankle, throwing her through the side of a building. 

"Rescue blaster," the yellow ranger called out, reached for her weapon. She fired at Shin Getti, hitting him in the chest, but it had no effect at all.

TJ got back to his feet. _"Shift into Lightspeed,"_ he called out, transforming into the red ranger, quickly calling for his rescue blaster as well.

The blue ranger followed suit, calling for his blaster, and the three of them set their blasters to full power…… but Shin Getti didn't move. Finally, from the hole in the building, another laser beam connected with Shin Getti, and that was enough to take him off his feet. 

The pink ranger emerged from the hole in the building, jumping down and standing next to the others. "Lets finish this guy off," she said.

"Lets combine our weapons," the red ranger said as the remaining rangers connected their blasters to his. As Shin Getti got to his feet, they fired.

The beam hit Shin Getti in the chest, forcing him to explode. As the smoke cleared, the rangers were able to get a good look around.

"Hes gone. We did it," the blue ranger celebrated.

"**Foolish mortals,**" the voice echoed.

Before the rangers could turn around, Shin Getti grabbed the blue ranger with one hand, lifting him up by the face and launched him across the street. The yellow and pink ranger both went for a spin kick, but he caught their feet and tossed them aside.

That left the red ranger on his own, but he stood his ground. "Come on," he taunted, standing ready.

Shin Gettis swung a punch, but the red ranger sidestepped him, connecting with kick to the mid section and an elbow to the back. Shin Getti was down to one knee, and TJ pointed the rescue blaster at his head at point blank ranger. He fired, blasting a hole in Shin Getti's head. Shin Getti collapsed to the ground, and as the red ranger tended to the others, the hole in Shin Getti's head began to regenerate itself. 

By the time the rangers were back to their feet, so was Shin Getti, kicking the blue ranger in the chest and sending him crashing into a nearby car. The car exploded on impact, sending it and the blue ranger up in flames.

"Justin," the red ranger called out, but Shin Getti grabbed him by the head.

"**How dare you attempt to defy the power of Shin Getti,**" the voice echoed as he cocked back, ready to hit the red ranger.

Just then, a beam of energy connected with Shin Getti's shoulder, blasting his entire arm off. As the arm fell to the ground, the red ranger was able to break free of its grip. They glanced up, where the green ranger was standing on top of a building with a blaster in hand.

"**It will take more than these toys to defeat me human,**" Shin Getti told him as his arm began to regenerate.

The green ranger jumped off the building, charging at Shin Getti with a full head of steam. He connected with a flurry of punches and kicks, actually forcing Shin Getti to take a few steps back. The remaining three rangers combined their weapons one more time, this time firing at Shin Getti's head, blasting it completely off his shoulders. Shin Getti's body fell to the ground with a lifeless thud.

"That's it. We did it," the pink ranger said.

"I wouldn't be so sure. He'll regenerate soon. We have to wait for Tommy," the green ranger told them.

"Why?"

"He was able to get in contact with a wizard named Lerigot. Lerigot will be able to trap Shin Getti in another dimension, but the incantation will take time," he explained. 

"Oh no, Justin," the yellow ranger said, hurrying over to what was left of the car. The fire had died down, but Justin, who had powered down, was lying motionless in the debris. She leaned down to check on him.

"Is he……" the red ranger's sentence trailed off as the lump grew in his throat.

Just then, Tommy materialized in a stream of red light along with Lerigot, who held a huge sphere of some sort. "Guys, you're okay," Tommy said.

"Not all of us," the yellow ranger sighed.

"**You meddlesome rangers have opposed me for the last time,**" Shin Getti announced as he got back to his feet. A sort of energy surrounded him as he began to grow. Soon, he was over forth feet tall, staring down at them.

"We've got a serious problem here guys," the red ranger said.

"The two of you get Justin out of here and back to the Aqua Base. TJ, you guard Lerigot and make sure he completes the incantation. I'll hold Shin Getti off," the green ranger told him.

"How?"

"With this," he said, pulling out a sword of some kind.

"The dragon dagger," the red ranger said with a tone of disbelief in his voice.

"Just go," the green ranger snapped, then put the dagger up to his mouth. "Dragonzord, arise," he called out.

In the distance, they were able to hear stomping. As Shin Getti took a step forward, the Dragonzrod grabbed him from behind, lifting him up and throwing him into a building. Shin Getti got back to his feet, only to have the Dragonzord open fire with rockets, knocking him back over.

Meanwhile, the red ranger and Tommy stood guard as Lerigot began the ceremony. The sphere in front of him began to light up as it rose off the ground, spinning around.

"Just a little bit longer," Tommy sighed.

Shin Getti shot an energy beam from his eyes, blasting a hole through the Dragonzord, but Dragonzord spun around, hitting Shin Getti with it's tail, taking him down. Shin Getti made it back to his feet, picking up the Dragonzord by the throat and lifted him up. With one final shot, the energy beams from his eyes forced the Dragonzord to explode.

"Dragonzord, no!" the green ranger called out, but it was too late.

"**Now to dispose of you pathetic rangers once and for all,**" he said, turning his attention back to them.

"It's too late Shin Getti, you're times up," Tommy told him.

The sphere began to glow even brighter, this time shooting out a beam of lightning, connecting with Shin Getti. The light became so bright that Tommy and the others had to cover their eyes. When the light finally died down, Shin Getti was gone, and the sphere had stopped glowing.

TJ powered down. "What happened?" he asked.

"Lerigot used his magic to trap Shin Getti in the Shadow World. He'll remain there until 2005 when another group of rangers will find a way to trap him again. You've done the world a huge service," he said, extending his hand to him.

The two of them shook. "Most of the thanks goes to the green ranger. After all, he was the one who called the Dragonzord just in time," he mentioned.

"Come on, we should get back to the Aqua Base," the green ranger said.

"This is far as I go. I have to get Lerigot back to his homeworld, then I have to head home as well," he took a step back as he picked up the sphere. "Thank you again, and may the power protect you all," Tommy said as he and Lerigot disappeared in a stream of red light.

~

TJ and the green ranger materialized in the Aqua Base, where Cassie and Ashley were standing over an examining table with tears in their eyes. TJ hurried over to him.

"How is Justin doing?" he asked.

It was Ms. Fairweather who walked over to the table, closing Justin's eyes and placing a white sheet over him. "I'm sorry," she sighed.

"NO!" TJ snapped, kicking over some equipment in a fit of rage.

"He died to save us all," Cassie cried.

It was Captain Mitchell who walked in the room next, standing at attention as he saluted them. "All of you have done an excellent job, saving the world once again. We are in your debt," he told them.

"Here," TJ took off his morpher, throwing it to the Captain. "I don't want anything else to do with morphers or saving anything, not if it's going to cost me one of my friends," he snapped, walking out the room.

Cassie and Ashley removed their morphers as well, handing them to the Captain as they followed TJ out the room.

"What is the condition of the Dragonzord?" Ms. Fairweather asked.

"It was destroyed in the battle," the green ranger said, taking off his morpher. It forced him to power down, replacing his uniform with his clothing. "I agree with the others, I want nothing else to do with this. We were suppose to protect the innocent, not stand by and watch one of our own heroes be killed," he sighed.

"The world owes you a debt Mr. Trueheart, a debt that will not easily be paid. If there's anything we can do for you, let us……" he cut them short.

"There is nothing you can do that will give that young man his life back," he sighed, walking out the room.

As soon as he got into the hallway, he found that TJ and the others were waiting for him. "You're David Trueheart, aren't you? Tommy's brother," TJ pointed out.

"Yes, I am," he sighed humbly.

"Why didn't you ever become a ranger?" Cassie asked.

"Because of instances like these. With such power comes a responsibility to save lives, not cost them. Your friend was a brave man, and we should honor his sacrifice," he told them.

"Thank you again David, for everything," Ashley said, wrapping her arms around him.

He simply nodded, and the four of them went their separate ways.

(*)

Tommy found himself reviewing the history logs again, reading over the events that had taken place in the 21st century. He wanted to convince himself that it couldn't have gone any other way, that nothing could be done to save Justin, but he couldn't.

He was interrupted when Jen walked into the room, standing behind his as she massaged his shoulders. "You picked well Tommy. You can't blame yourself for what happened back there," she sighed.

"I've been reading the logs again. It only mentions that a group of rangers were able to trap Shin Getti in the Shadow World, but that's as far as the details go. Could it be that we were _meant_ to go back in time and help? Were we _suppose_ to modify the morphers so Justin and the others could use them?" he asked.

"Like I said Tommy, sometimes fate has its own plans for us," she sighed.


	28. Chapter XXVIII: Personal Day

He'd passed the café a million times on his way to work, but today, he decided to wake up a few minutes early and stop in. Whenever he walked by, everyone inside seemed to be enjoying themselves; talking with friends, drinking coffee and laughing. Then, the aroma that came from the café as he as walked by was enough to catch his attention. The smell of eggs and bacon filled the air, and everytime he walked by, he found himself with a craving for it.

"What can I get for you?" a waitress asked as she walked over to his table with a note pad and ink pen in hand.

"Bacon and eggs," he said proudly, neglecting to look at the menu.

"Will that be all for you sir?" she inquired.

"As a matter of fact, make it two. I'm expecting someone. Oh, and two glasses of ice-cold milk," he told her.

"You got it," she said, writing down his order and walking away.

Work had kept him so busy over the last few weeks, he decided that he would take a personal day. For once, he wasn't going to talk about work, anything work related at all…… especially not the Slipstream. He'd earned a day to himself, and he was going to enjoy himself for once.

Things got even better as the door to the café open and _she_ walked in. She was wearing a blue sundress, rather low cut he noticed. The dress itself stopped just below her knees, and for the first time he could clearly recall, she was wearing her hair down.

"So, this is that café you were telling me about," she said cheerfully, walking over to him and sitting down across from him in the booth.

"You look amazing," he sighed, either unable or unwilling to take his eyes off her.

"I bet you say that to all the girls," she blushed.

"Only the beautiful ones," he admitted.

"Did you order already?"

"Yeah, I got you bacon and eggs. I hope that's okay," he said.

"Sounds good to me,"

"Thanks for coming. I know its kinda early, and you probably wanted to get to……" he was cut short.

"Its okay Trip. There's nowhere else I want to be right now," she told him.

He blushed. "Thanks," he sighed.

Just then, she pulled a small slip of paper out her dress, opening it up. "I was up kinda late last night, and I came up with this idea for a modified spectral imagining system for the lab. I drew some schematics for it if you wanna……"

He shook his head. "Not today Cammy. No office talk today," he said.

"So what _do_ you want to talk about?"

He paused. He'd practiced it a million times in the mirror before it left, he knew exactly what he wanted to say, but he couldn't seem to get the words out. _'Why is this so hard?'_ he wondered to himself. _'I know she likes me too,'_

He wanted nothing more than to tell her that from the moment he saw her, he was in love with her, that he wanted to be with her. Somehow, it was easier to _think_ than to actually say.

"Camille," he paused again, trying to gather his thoughts. "We've been working together for a while now, and I've been thinking that……" he stopped in mid sentence, unsure on how to continue. "What I mean to say is……" he stopped again. "I mean, for the last few months I've wanted to tell you that……" this time, she interrupted him.

"I love you too Trip," she sighed.

"What?"

"I said I love you Trip. I've always loved you, but waiting for you to say it I'll be an old lady," she told him.

Suddenly, there was a great weight lifted off his shoulders. Suddenly, his speech didn't seem as important as it was when he practiced it in the mirror this morning.

"Whoa. I didn't expect you to……"

"To what? Feel the same way? I've always felt that way, but we never found the right time or place to say anything," she said.

"So what happens now?"

"Now we eat," Camille said as the waitress arrived with their food.

Trip smiled.

(*)

"I don't think they're coming," Katie said as she glanced up at the clock.

"I told you, they're both taking a personal day today. Can't say I blame them, its been a rough couple of weeks," Jen mentioned, walking over to Katie and sitting down next to her at the conference table.

"So what are we? Work-a-holics?" she asked.

"You could say that,"

"Where is Tommy?" she asked.

"He was assigned to work with Alex today, something about a special mission. They were pretty quiet about it," Jen said.

"So its just me and you now, huh?"

"Nothing we can't handle. Besides, if we need backup, we can always call Captain Logan," she said.

"Actually, the Captain had a meeting with the counsel today. I don't think hes coming," Katie mentioned.

Jen shrugged her shoulders. "Big deal. We can handle it," she said, walking over to the control panel for the Slipstream. "I'll set the vortex to automatically reopen in one hour. You ready?" she asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be," she said as she stood up.

Jen activated the portal, and the two of them stepped inside, disappearing.

~

As soon as they stepped through, they found themselves surrounded by men in black uniforms. Each of them had disrupter weapons in hand.

Jen and Katie looked at one another as a man stepped forward. His uniform was black as well, but had a silver collar and he wore a pair of deeply tinted sunglasses. "Temportal Investigations. You're under arrest for an illegal time jump," the man said coldly.

"Alex?" Jen inquired, getting a good look at the man.

It was obviously shaken up that he recognized her, but dismissed it. "You have the right to remain silent. If you give up that right, anything you say will be held against you in a court of law," he warned them as two other men stepped forward, cuffing their hands behind their backs.

Katie motioned to Jen, letting her know she was ready to make a run for it, but Jen shook her head slightly, tacitly telling Katie to stand down.

The man in uniform them shoved them into the back of a black truck, closing the doors behind them. Once inside, they saw another man in uniform holding a disrupter weapon as well. "Just have a seat ladies, we'll be there in a second," he said as the truck pulled away.

"Be where?"

"Your home for the next twenty years," he said with a laugh.

Again, Katie was ready to make a move, but Jen motioned for her to stop. "What are we being charged with?" Jen inquired.

"Save the innocent speech. We detected your temportal vortex before it even opened. You're guilty," he told them.

"We're guilty of coming through the portal?" she asked.

"You're lucky you didn't try such a stupid stunt a few months ago when the death penalty was legal. Too many activist groups lobbied to have the death penalty abolished, and the mayor gave in," he said.

"So you're saying that on this world, traveling through time is illegal?" Katie asked.

"What do you mean _this_ world? This is the _only_ world. Time travel was outlawed years ago, but every now and then someone stupid tries to go back in time and change things. When they do, we catch them and deal with them," he said.

"What year is this?"

"What kind of stupid question is that?"

"Just answer me," Jen said.

He paused. "The year is 2618," he told her.

Jen paused to collect her thoughts. "In 2618, Time Force's only major competition was a company called Chryo Tech. They'd been experimenting with Chryo genics and working on a way to travel through time on their own. Time Force eventually bought them out," she said.

"Except here, sounds like Chryo Tech was able to stay in business and shut down Time Force, then outlaw time travel altogether," Katie added.

"I don't know what you two are talking about, but that's enough. Time Force has been gone for years, and even if they were here, they were nothing compared to Chyro Tech," the guard said.

Just then, the truck stopped and the doors opened. Another group of guards pulled Jen and Katie out the back and down a long, dark hallway. They stopped at the end of the hallway, opening a door and tossing them inside. Before they could make a move, the guards slammed the door shut.

"So now what?" Katie asked.

"Now you rot away in here like the rest of us," they heard a voice say.

They glanced over their shoulders as a figure stepped through the shadows, walking over to them. "Jen?" she inquired.

Jen found herself at a lose for words staring at herself. There were a few differences though; the other Jen's hair was much longer, and her clothes were ripped to shreds.

"What's going on here?" Jen asked.

"What's going on is that you're going to be here for a long time, so you might as well get use to it," the other Jen said.

"Do you recognize me?"

"I know who you are Jennifer Scotts, probably from Time Force. Probably part of the Temporal Investigations unit on your world too. Not that none of that matters anymore," she sighed.

"What are you saying?"

"I'm from what you would call an alternate reality too, but the Chryo Tech people captured me and my team during a routine mission and locked us away in here. That was years ago, I think," she said.

"Where is the rest of your team?"

"Chryo Tech used some of them for Chryogenic experiments a few years ago, the others were tortured for information. Either that or when they tried to escape, the walls vaporized them," she said.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean the walls are lined with motion censors. If anyone tries to escape, a beam comes out the wall and vaporizes them," she said.

"You said they tortured your team for information. What do they want to know?"

"They know that other worlds exist, but they can't find a way to travel to them. They're looking for a way to block other people from other worlds coming here so they can be the only company with the ability to travel through time," she said.

"If another team were to come here and find out what was happening, they'd try to put a stop it to," Katie pointed out.

"And to avoid that, Chryo Tech captures everyone who knows anything about alternate realities and gets rid of them. Those bastards," Jen sighed.

"So what do we do?"

"You don't get it, we don't _do_ anything. We're here now, and they're not going to let us go," the other Jen said.

"Do they ever open those doors?" she asked.

"Twice a day. Once to feed us, the second one to give us a bucket,"

"A bucket? For what?"

"To relieve ourselves," she groaned.

"Have you ever been out of this room?" Jen asked.

"Once, about three years ago. I tried to escape, but I didn't make it passed the rangers in the control room," she said.

"The rangers?" Katie inquired.

"The gold and silver rangers. Chryo Tech uses them to maintain control here. If someone tries to escape, they're job is to dispose of us by any means necessary," she said.

"If you can lead us out of here, I promise to take you with us," Jen said.

"You still don't get it. We're never getting out of here," she told them.

"Fine, shes not going to be any help," she turned to Katie. "You ready to get out of here?" she asked her.

Katie effortlessly broke free of the handcuffs, and then quickly snatched the cuffs off Jen as well. "Ready whenever you are," she said.

"Getting out of here isn't enough, we have to shut down Chryo Tech before we go. If we don't, they'll capture anyone who travels here," she said.

"You have a plan?"

"Of course I do," she said.

~

"Guards! Guards!" Katie yelled, pounding on the door.

A few moments later, the doors and opened and a guard stepped in with a disrupter in hand. "What do you want?" he asked.

"My friend tried to escape and this beam came out the wall. It turned her to ashes," she cried.

"Serves her right," he said, heading for the door.

Before he could get out the door, Katie pushed him up against the wall. No sooner did he hit the wall did a beam of light shoot from the ceiling, vaporizes him on impact.

"This is your last chance. You coming?" she asked, turning to the other Jen.

"No," she sighed.

"Fine," Katie said, walking out the door.

Katie and Jen walked down the hallway without being seen, making their way to what looked to be the main control room. There was only one guard in the room, which they eliminated quickly. After knocking him out, Jen headed for the control panel.

"I wish Trip was here," she whispered. "This looks like the equipment they use to monitor temporal incursions with," she said.

"Can you shut it down?"

"Shutting it down won't be enough, we have to erase all information on it so they can't rebuild it. There has to be a way to destroy it," she said.

"One of us could set our morpher on overload. That would be enough to destroy the entire system. Even if they could rebuild it, it would take them years," Katie suggested.

"Good idea," she said.

"Hold it right there. Your time is up," they heard a voice say.

Katie turned around, catching a boot across the jaw. It was enough to knock her through a window in the room, shattering it on impact.

Jen turned around to find herself surrounded by the gold and silver rangers. Their uniforms looked similar to the Time Force ranger uniforms, but with some minor differences. Both of them seemed to have armor on their chest over their uniforms, including arm plates.

"I can't believe you stole my line," she said, charging at the gold ranger with a spin kick, taking him down. The silver ranger grabbed her from behind, but she kicked back, catching him between the legs, then dropped to her knees, flipping him over her shoulder. As he got back to his feet, Jen kicked him in the face, knocking him over the table. The gold ranger called for a sword, swinging at Jen, but she caught the blade between her hands. As she tried to get the blade away from her face, he kicked her in the stomach, knocking her up against the control panel. He cocked back with the sword and swung, but Jen moved aside and the blade went through the panel. An electrical shock went through the sword, connecting with the gold ranger, knocking him out.

The silver ranger called for his weapon, but it was Katie who came through the window with a tornado kick, taking him down as well. He quickly got back to his feet, only to fall to his knees. Katie looked up as the other Jen walked into the room with a metal pipe in hand.

"I changed my mind," she said.

Jen turned back to the control panel. "He did some serious damage, but its not enough. Katie, give me one of their morphers," she said.

Katie leaned down, taking the morpher off the gold ranger. As soon as she removed the morpher, he powered down. "Oh my God, its Alex," she sighed, handing the morpher to Jen.

Jen didn't even bother to look as she set the morpher to overload, putting it on the control panel. "We only have thirty seconds to get out of here," she said.

"We can't just leave them here," the other Jen said.

"She's right. Grab'em," she ordered.

Katie picked Alex and the silver ranger up, putting one on each shoulder and hurried out the room. She followed both of the Jens out the building, ducking down behind a truck. Seconds later, the morpher exploded, taking most of the building with it.

"Take his morpher," Jen said.

Katie took the morpher off the silver ranger, forcing him to power down as well. "I don't recognize him," she said.

"I do, it's Jesse. He's my husband," the other Jen said.

"Husband? How?"

"We traveled to this world together, but they used him to experiment with their version of memory adaptation. They turned him against me," she cried.

"Get him in the truck. We're getting out of here," Jen said.

The other Jen helped Katie put Jesse in the truck, then climbed in themselves, shutting the doors. Jen climbed in the front seat, hotwiring the truck, then pulled away.

"According to my calculations, the portal will open in about 3 minutes," Katie reminded her.

"We'll make it," she said.

When they arrived at the transfer point, there were a group of guards standing in front of the portal, blocking their entrance.

"We don't have time to fight them all," she said.

"We're not going to," Jen said as she stepped on the gas, speeding towards the portal.

The guards dived out of the way just in time as Jen drove the truck through the portal.

~

She quickly hit the breaks, colliding with the conference table before she was able to stop the truck. The vortex closed behind them as they all got out the truck.

"I'll get Jesse down to memory adaptation, maybe they'll be able to restore his memory," Katie said, putting Jesse over her shoulder and took him out the room.

"What about me?" the other Jen asked.

"We can scan you to determine your temporal code, then input that code into the computer so we can transport you and your husband back to your own world," she told her.

"Thank you, for everything," she sighed.

(*) Later that evening (*)

Trip and Camille walked into the science lab hand in hand, only to find a truck parked in the middle of the room.

"What the hell happened here?" he asked.

Jen and Katie were doing their best to clean up the mess. "Sorry about the table, we'll fix that. How was your personal day?" Katie inquired.

He looked at Camille and smiled. "Things went well," he said.

"Good,"

"Looks like you guys had your hands full while we were gone," Camille brought up.

"Hmmmmmm, lets see: we stopped an evil organization from ruling the world, reunited a husband and wife, not to mention sent them back to their own world, destroyed an entire complex _and_ managed to get our hands on a silver Chrono morpher," Jen said.

"We should take personal days more often," he sighed.

"Yeah," Camille said.


	29. Chapter XXIX: Changes

**Author's note**: This takes place _during_ Personal Day. Thank you to all of you who have reviewed this series **100 TIMES**. I appreciate your support and I hope you continue to give me your constructive criticism and positive feedback. 

He found himself sitting across from Alex in his office, waiting silently. Alex was sitting behind his desk reading over papers, barely acknowledging the fact that he was in the room with him. Even now, after working with Alex on a few occasions, there was something about him, something that demanded respect.

Finally, Alex put the papers down, turning his attention to him. "Thanks for coming Tommy. I needed to talk to you," he said.

"What can I do for you sir?" he inquired.

Alex stood up, taking off his sunglasses and setting them on the desk, sitting down on the edge of the desk. "Lets drop the rank, shall we? Truth is, with your experience, you should be a commander by now and in charge of your own unit," he told him.

"Naw. I'm happy where I am with Jen and the others," he said.

Alex noticed the slight sparkle in Tommy's eye when he mentioned Jen's name, recalling that same spark in his eye not too long ago. "Yes, of course you are," he paused. "I read your report about what happened with the Turbo rangers and your brother. That was damn fine work you did," he told him.

"It couldn't have been _that_ great, it cost a ranger his life," he brought up.

"Sometimes things happen that are beyond our control. Its how you handle those types of situations that separate those who can lead, and those who only follow," he said.

"Sounds like the kind of speech you give before a promotion," he stood up. "Like I said, I'm happy where I am. I'm not really interested in a……" he was cut short.

"Just hear me out Tommy," he sat back down. "What I'm offering isn't a promotion, it's a special mission. Consider it a black bag operation," he said.

"What do you want me to do?"

"To you believe in self-fulfilling prophecies?" Alex asked him.

"What do you mean?"

"Didn't it seem strange to you that the history logs didn't give exact details about how Shin Getti was stopped in the 21st century? These types of events are carefully worded to avoid any confusion, to ensure that things don't become too complicated. Truth is, outside influence was necessary for the timeline to progress naturally. If you and the others hadn't traveled to that point in time, Operation: Lightspeed would have never gotten off the ground. Shin Getti would have taken over the world, and history would have been changed. That's why Time Force is important, especially the Slipstream division. You and your unit are the missing links in the timeline; ensure that things flow according to plan. The mission I'm offering you now is a chance to ensure that history once again flows smoothly," he told him.

"How?"

Alex walked behind his desk again, opening a drawer and pulling out a small white sphere, tossing it to Tommy. Tommy quickly caught it, getting a good look at it.

"What is this?" Tommy asked.

"It's a second chance," he sighed. "Come with me," he said as he headed out the office. Tommy stood up, following him out the room.

He followed him down the hall and around the corner, eventually coming to the hub of Temporal Investigations. "What are we doing here?" he asked.

"I'm sending you on a mission. What happens in the next few minutes is completely classifieds. No one must know what we're going here, it's imperative to maintain the continuity of the time stream. Not even your fellow rangers can know," he explained.

"I understand,"

Alex walked over to the controls and pushed a button, opening a door at the back of the room, revealing a time ship. "When you get inside, you'll see that the coordinates have already been set and the auto pilot is engaged. The parameters of your mission will be explained in the files you find in the ship, and after you read them, they must be destroyed. Follow out the instructions to the letter, then return here for de-briefing and memory adaptation," Alex instructed.

"Memory adaptation?"

"It's a standard procedure. When you return, memories of the mission will be erased from your memory to preserve the timeline," he said.

"Understood," he said as he nodded slightly, heading towards the time ship.

Alex watched as the launching procedures began, and the time ship lifted off. A temporal vortex appeared in the sky, and the time ship headed inside. Almost seconds later, the vortex reopened, and the time ship returned. Alex couldn't help but crack a smile as the ship landed. He headed towards the ship as the loading bay doors opened and Tommy stepped out carrying a long, black bag in his arms.

"Excellent work Tommy," he praised.

"Sorry it took longer than expected, there were……complications," Tommy told him.

"The time ship was set to bring you back to the exact moment you left Tommy. From my standpoint, you were only gone for a few seconds," he explained. "I'll take this, you get down to memory adaptation," he ordered, taking the black bag from Tommy as he walked out the room.

(*)

Captain Logan sat in front of the podium, waiting for the arrival of the counsel. Over the years, the counsel had become one of the focal points of the entire Time Force organization. The three of them were humanoid beings, but their exact race was unknown. They're ability to predict future events, to foresee things to come made them powerful allies, but there were times when they kept their true motives to themselves.

"All rise," he heard a voice say.

The captain stood up, showing respect as the three members of the counsel walked into the room, standing behind the podium.

"You may be seated," a voice said.

The captain quickly sat back down. "I was told you wanted to see me," he mentioned.

"Yes Captain, there is a matter of urgency we wish to discuss with you. It involves your participation in Project: Slipstream," one of them said.

"We've done our best since the project started, and have been able to help countless worlds since we……" he was cut short.

"The performance of you and the rangers have been nothing short of exemplary, but perilous times are ahead. Time Force will soon face one of its gravest threats, and it will become necessary to make changes within the program," another said.

"What kinds of changes?"

"You will be relocated effective immediately, your services will be needed elsewhere if Time Force will survive this encounter," one of them said.

"There will also be an addition to the ranger's team," the last one said.

"A new ranger?"

"Yes," another said.

"But why, Tommy and the others are doing an excellent job," he brought up.

"Yes, they are, but it will become necessary for a 6th ranger very soon. This ranger will have power beyond all comprehension, and will be instrumental in the survival of Time Force," the first one told him.

"What can I do to prepare?"

"Preparations are already underway,"

"Who will replace me on Project: Slipstream?" he asked them.

"A suitable replacement has been found and will be placed as soon as possible. Thank you for your outstanding job performance throughout your tenure. Your service record speaks for itself," one of them told him.

"Thank you," he said as he saluted, then walked out the room.

(*)

The doors to the science lab opened as Tommy walked in. "Whoa, what happened in here?" he asked as soon as he noticed a truck in the middle of the lab.

"It's a long story," Jen sighed.

"So how did your meeting with Alex go?" Katie asked, walking over to him.

He paused. "Um, I didn't even have the meeting. He was called away and we had to reschedule for another day," he told them.

"That's strange, you were gone for a while," she mentioned.

"Its no big deal," he glanced around the room. "Where are Trip and Camille?" he asked.

"They're taking a personal day, they deserve it. Besides, when they get back, they'll have their hands full with the silver morpher," Katie said.

"Silver? How did you……"

"I told you, it's a long story," Jen told him.

Just then, the science lab doors opened again as Alex walked into the room. Even with his sunglasses on, Jen could notice the look of distain on his face as he walked over to them.

"Do you have a minute commander?" he inquired.

"What can I do for you Alex?" she replied, walking towards him.

"I have orders from the counsel. Maybe you want to discuss this in private," he brought up.

She shook her head. "Anything you have to say to me, you can say in front of my team. We don't have any secrets," she told him.

"As you wish," he cleared his throat. "Effective immediately, Captain Logan has been reassigned to a different position in Time Force. He is no longer your commanding officer for Project: Slipstream," he told him.

"What?" Katie snapped.

"Logan did good work, why did they move him?" she asked.

"The counsel felt his talents were needed elsewhere in the organization. A new commanding officer has been assigned to the project," he said.

"Let me guess, they assigned you. You've been waiting to come in here and get your hands on our project, haven't you _Alexander_? We've worked our asses off in here, and I refuse to let you come in here and undermine everything we've done," Jen snapped.

"Actually _Jennifer_, I wasn't assigned to the project. By the power vested in me by the counsel, I hereby promote you to the rank of Captain with all the rights and privileges of that position," he extended his hand to her. "Congratulations, sir," Alex told her with a heavy heart.

She obliged him. "Thank you commander," she sighed, shaking his hand.

"If I can be of any help, by all means contact me," he said as he saluted her, then walked out the room.

"Wow Jen, you're a captain," Tommy said, stating the obvious.

"I was happy doing what I was doing. I don't want a promotion," she said.

There was something about her statement that caught his attention. _'What I'm offering isn't a promotion,' _echoed through his mind, but he quickly dismissed the thought.

"Well, you're in charge of the entire project now. You can do what you want to do," Katie said.

"Yeah, there's no reason why you can't go on missions anymore," he mentioned.

"There's something going on in Time Force, something big. And I intend to find out what it is," Jen said with a look of determination.  


	30. Chapter XXX: friendship & betrayal

**Author's note: **The Parallels website has been updated (and has a new poll), so take a lot. Thanks to all of you who continue to give me feedback. Enjoy.

The two of them walked into a room with grids along the wall, the ceiling and the floor. When the door closed, it was impossible to ascertain where the room began or ended. "Computer, load program Trip Omega seven," he said.

_'Working,'_ the computer announced.

Suddenly, the room changed. They appeared to be in field of some sort, with nothing but grass as far as the eye could see. The sun was shining down on them as they stood across from one another.

"You ready?" she asked him.

Trip reached for his morpher. _'TIME FOR, TIME FORCE,'_ he called out as his clothes were replaced by the white ranger uniform. Before she could make a move, Trip rushed towards her with a series of kicks, but Camille was able to block each one of them. Trip did a back flip, but Camille grabbed his ankles, forcing him to fall flat on his back, knocking the wind out of him. 

_'SILVER RANGER POWER,'_ Camille called out. There was a flash of light, and the silver ranger uniform replaced her clothes.

Trip was back to his feet, but Camille gave him a sweep, knocking him off his feet. Before he hit the ground, she kicked him in the ribs, sending him almost 10 feet in the air. Trip managed to flip in the air, kicking Camille in the side of the head before he landed on his feet.

_'Chrono Saber,'_ he called out as his sword materialized in his hand. 

He swung at her, but missed, and Camille countered with a roundhouse kick to the head, knocking him down. She grabbed his sword and cocked back, trying to stab him in the chest, but he rolled out the way just in time. As the sword sank into the ground, he spun around, tripping Camille. He quickly grabbed his sword and cocked back, ready to strike.

_'Silver Chrono Armor,'_ she called out.

The armor materialized just as the sword connected with her chest, breaking the sword in half. Camille flipped back, wrapping her legs around Trip's ankle and knocking him over. Before he could stand up, she jumped on top of him, pinning him down.

"Ready to give up?" 

"If I say yes, will you kiss me?" he asked.

"Maybe,"

Both of them powered down, finding themselves face to face. She moved in closer, pressing her lips gently against his.

"I see you two are working hard," they heard a voice say.

The two of them looked up, only to see Jen standing behind them with her arms folded. They quickly got back to their feet, dusting themselves off.

"Actually, we were," Trip said.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure the lip lock will be the formidable weapon ever created my Time Force," she said sarcastically, removing her deeply tinted sunglasses.

"The preliminary tests on the Silver Chrono morphers have proven that it can be adapted to our format, meaning we should be able to incorporate the battle armor into the other morphers, but there are drawbacks," Camille said.

"Why kind of drawbacks?"

"We won't be able to engage the cloak with the armor in place. Each take up way too much power for them to run together. Also, the armor only lasts for a limited time," she said.

"How limited?"

"No longer than five minutes, but it does seem to withstand even the most powerful attack," she said.

"It broke my Chrono saber like it was plastic," Trip mentioned.

"And what about the white morpher? Were you able to restore it?" Jen asked.

"After removing some of the critical components so we could adapt the cloak to our morphers, we believed that the morpher itself would only be able to work at half power. We've been able to give the morpher an alternate power source, and it has actually shown a 20% increase in power," he explained.

"Excellent work you two," she said.

"Thank you," they said in unison.

"Come on, we should head to the science lab. We have work to do," she told them.

The two of them nodded, following them out the room.

~

"Someone is going to have to stay here and dug up as much information as they can about the reality we're going to," Jen pointed out as the five of them prepared for the next mission.

"I'll stay, I'm not feeling too well," Tommy volunteered.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just haven't been sleeping well lately. I'm having these strange dreams, and I'm getting headaches a lot," he said.

"Maybe you should go down to the infirmary and get checked out," Katie suggested.

"I will if I have to, but I'm sure I'll be fine, really. You guys go ahead," he sat down in front of the control panel, going over the last of the calculations. "You've got two hours to get back to the transfer point," he told them, activating the portal.

"Understood,"

"Good luck guys," Tommy said as he watched the four of them step into the blue swirling vortex, and then disappear.

(*)

The entire city was in ruins. For as far as the eye could see, there were buildings barely standing, some of them with walls missing. The sky was a deep shade of blue, almost navy, and the smell of burning flesh filled the air.

"What the hell happened here?" Camille asked, getting a good look around.

"This likes like New Silver Hills, but everything is destroyed," Katie added.

"Until we find out more about what's going on, I suggest we stick together. I'd hate to get lost in a place like this," Jen instructed.

They all nodded slightly, and then continued to look around. Trip walked over to one of the buildings, looking at the markings on the side. "This looks like disrupter fire. There was a battle here, a big one," he mentioned.

"Judging by the smell, the battle wasn't too long ago, and the loser didn't have time to worry about it either," Camille said, waving her hand in front of her face.

"Who could have done this?"

"I think I have a good idea who it might have been," Katie said, motioning for the others to turn around.

As soon as they did, they found themselves staring upwards staring at him. He was at least eight feet tall with long, jet black hair and covered most of his face. All they were able to see were his eyes, which were a sinister shade of red. He wore what appeared to be battle armor, and his arms were abnormally long. So long in fact that his hands seemed to drag on the ground as he took a step forward.

The four of them stood ready.

"Humans?" the creature mumbled. "How can this be?"

"We were going to ask you the same question handsome," Camille said.

"I mean you no harm," he took a step forward. "My name is Knuckles…" he held his hands up. "For obvious reasons," he introduced. "It isn't safe for you to be on the streets like this, the mutant resistance group will kill you on sight," he explained.

"What is going on here?" Jen asked.

"Come with me, I'll explain everything you need to know," he said, motioning for them to follow.

They followed him down a long, dark alley, coming to what looked like a dead end. Knuckles stood against the wall, pulling a small lever. Just then, the wall itself opened up, allowing them inside.

"This place is huge," Jen admired as she looked around.

"What is this place?" Trip asked.

"Its an old abandoned warehouse. Humans use to use it for storage during the cold war, but its been forgotten about over the years. This is the last place that the resistance would think to look for us," he explained to them.

"Who is the resistance?"

"Years ago, long before my time, mutants took over the city. Under the rule of their leader, Ransik, they were able to overthrow the entire planet, and there was no way to oppose him. Humans were rounded up and used as slaves; others were tortured and killed for pleasure. There were still humans that were free, doing what they could to take Ransik down, but he initiated the cold wars, eliminating the humans with a biological weapon. It took years for the chemicals to dissipate, and when they did mutants began to rise up against Ransik. Although humans were eliminated during the war, countless millions of mutants were killed as well, and the surviving mutants drew to despise Ransik. Many of his generals remained loyal to him, but others plotted to rid the world of Ransik once and for all," he explained.

"What did you do?"

"Our efforts to destroy him failed. It wasn't until his daughter turned against him that we were finally able to rid ourselves of Ransik," he told them.

"Let me guess, his generals weren't too happy with you getting rid of his leader, right?" Katie asked.

"Exactly. They began to round up mutants, killing them. There are only a few of us left now, but the generals and their armies are getting bigger and bigger," he said.

"How?"

"After the destruction of Ransik, a new leader was found. It is under the leadership of Frax that the mutant generals have been able to mass-produce their armies. They take the bodies of fallen mutants and infuse them with cybernetic components to create a new race of super mutants," Knuckles explained to them.

"How did this happen? Where was Time Force?" Jen asked.

"Ransik traveled back into the past to a point where there was no Time Force, erasing them from existence," he said.

"That means when Ransik went to the 21st century, we weren't able to stop him. He defeated us," Katie pointed out.

"And Frax waited for just the right time to strike. Now, the entire world belongs to the super mutants," Trip added.

"We always believed that one day, someone would come help us take down the resistance so that we could usher in a new era of peace. That day has arrived," Knuckles said.

"Wait a sec. You mean us?" Camille asked.

"You have the technology we lack. You're Power Rangers, you can do it," he said eagerly.

"How did you know we were…"

"I saw the morphers on your wrists, and the uniforms you wear. It was obvious you were from Time Force. We need your help, please," he said.

"Where is the rest of your group?" Jen asked.

"Most of them have been captured by the resistance. There are only a few of us left scattered through out the city," he told them.

"Of course we'll help," Katie said eagerly.

"Great. I'll lead you to the central complex and show you how to get in," he said, heading for the exit.

The others followed behind him, but Jen paused, grabbing Camille's arm to hold her back. Camille quickly noticed the look of distress on her face. "What's wrong Captain?" she inquired.

"There's something about this guy I don't trust," she whispered.

"If everything happened the way he says it did, it's our fault that this world is in such bad shape. We have to help him," she mentioned.

"I know, but…"

"Don't worry Cap, I'll keep my eyes on him," Camille assured her.

(*)

The five of them found themselves in front of a huge complex, but the first thing that Jen noticed was that there were no guards. 'An entire army in the mutant resistance and they're not even bothering to guard their central base of operations?' she wondered to herself.

Knuckles walked over to the main door, inputting a password that opened the door. "Once we get inside, we should free the other members of my group. We'll need help if we're going to take down the resistance once and for all," he told them.

Katie and Trip followed him inside without question, but Jen stepped back cautiously. "Awful strange that he knew the pass code to get us in," she mentioned.

Before Camille could respond, a group of mutants came from one of nowhere, attacking them. One of the mutants grabbed Jen, but she ducked, allowing Camille to give him a spin kick to the face. As the mutant fell over, Jen reached for her morpher.

"TIME FOR, TIME…" she was cut short.

"Oh no you don't," Knuckles said, snatching the morpher off her wrist, then gave her a backhand, knocking her up against the building. Two more mutants grabbed Camille, holding her arms behind her back.

"Trip, run!" she called out, but it was too late.

"Humans really are as dumb as they look," Knuckles said with a sinister laugh, grabbing Katie by the throat as he began to squeeze the life out of her. Trip fought away from the mutant captures and tried to help Katie, only to have Knuckles knock him aside. "Take them away," he snarled.

~

Jen opened her eyes slowly, only to find herself chained to a wall. The room itself was damp, with no windows as far as she could tell. Her first thought was to break through the chains, but no matter how hard she pulled, the chains wouldn't give.

"Don't bother trying, even I couldn't break them," Katie mentioned.

Jen glanced over where she was Katie chained to the wall as well. Across from them were Trip and Camille, also chained to the wall.

"I knew there was something strange about that guy," Jen snapped.

"Nothing we can do about it now. He took our morphers, and even if we did manage to get out of here, there's no telling how many of those super mutants are out there waiting for us," Trip said.

"That's the least of our problems. According to my calculations, the portal will open in about 30 minutes. If we don't get back to the transfer point, we'll be stuck here," Camille said.

"If he tries to teleport us out of here, all he'll get is our morphers. Looks like we should get comfortable," he sighed.

"There has to be a way out of here," Jen sighed.

"If we had our morphers, we could…"

"That's it!" Camille screamed.

"What?"

"Trip and I were running a simulation on deck four before we came on this mission. We were using the white and silver Chrono morphers," she said.

"So? They took our morphers,"

"Yeah, but I still have the blue Chrono morpher in my back pocket," she told them.

"Now if only one of us had hands," Trip said.

Camille planted her feet against the wall, and then pushed off, using the momentum to spin around. "Trip, see if you can kick the morpher out my pocket," she said.

"You want me to kick your ass?"

"Trust me, this is the only time you'll be able to," she told him.

Trip put his feet against the wall, then pushed off, trying to kick the morpher out. It took a few tries, but he managed to get it out her pocket, sending it to the ground.

"It'll do us a lot of good down there too," Katie sighed.

"I'm working on it," she sighed, managing to pick the morpher up with her feet. "Alright Jen, catch," she said, lunging the morpher across the room.

The morpher hit Jen in the forehead, falling to the ground again. "Ouch!" she sighed.

"Sorry,"

Jen managed to pick the morpher up with her feet as well, lunging it towards Camille. This time, Camille caught it.

"You tried to hit me, didn't you?" Camille asked.

"Maybe,"

'TIME FOR, TIME FORCE,' she called out, morphing into the blue ranger. She was able to break free from her chains, falling to the ground and landing on her feet. "Why do we go through the motions every time we morph if all we have to do is press the button?" she asked.

"Just looks cool," Trip sighed.

Before Camille could free the others, the door to the holding cell opened and Knuckles walked in. "Where do you think you're going?" he snarled.

Camille responded with a spin kick to the face, knocking him up against the wall. She tried to follow up, but he reached out, grabbing her by the throat and lifted her up.

"Let her go!" Jen yelled.

"Fine," he said, throwing her through the wall, leaving her unconscious. "When are you rangers going to get it? You're nothing compared to an entire race of super mutants," he told them.

Just then, Knuckles fell to the ground, holding his face. "Who did that?" he snapped, looking around the room.

At that moment, someone appeared out of thin air. It looked like a ranger, but not like any of them had ever seen before. The entire uniform looked to be covered in black and gray armor, with gold symbols on the shoulders.

"Your times up mutant," the ranger said, extending his arms at his sides as golden blades came out of his forearms.

"I don't know who you think you are buddy, but you're in a world of trouble," Knuckles said as he got back to his feet, taking a swing at the mysterious ranger. The ranger managed to sidestep him, then spun around, slicing the back of his knee with one of the blades. Before Knuckles could hit the ground, the ranger struck again, slicing off Knuckle's right arm, forcing him to howl out in pain.

With Knuckles out the way, the mysterious ranger used his blades to cut through the chains holding the others. "Are you okay?" the ranger asked.

"We're fine, thanks to you," Jen said.

Trip picked Camille up, who had already powered down. "I think she just got the wind knocked out of her. She should be fine," he said.

"All of you should get back to the transport location immediately before its too late,"

"Who are you?" Katie asked.

"That isn't important right now. Here," he reached into what appeared to be a metal belt around his waist, pulling out their morphers and handed them to Jen. "Go before it's too late,"

"Thank you, whoever you are," Trip said.

"Anytime rangers,"

(*)

The four of them hurried back to the transport point, trying not to be seen by anyone on the street. They finally came to the transport point, setting Camille down gently. It was Jen who reached for her morpher.

"Jen to Tommy. Come in," she said.

'I read you loud and clear Jen. The portal will open in exactly two minutes. Standby,' he told them.

"So who was that guy?" Katie asked.

"Was he a ranger?"

"If he was, his technology was beyond anything I've ever seen before. The armor reminded me of what Camille and I were testing, but much more advanced. It seemed to cover his entire body, and those blades on his arms were awesome," Trip brought up.

"It's a good thing he's on our side,"

"He is really? We trusted Knuckles and look what that got us. Doesn't it seem convenient to you that some new ranger mysteriously shows up, saves the day and managed to get our morphers for us without breaking a sweat? If Time Force doesn't exist in this reality, where did he come from?" Jen asked them.

"There are a lot of possibilities. He could be from another reality, like we are. You also have to keep in mind that just because there's no Time Force here, that doesn't mean there can't be rangers. Who's to say that guy was even a ranger at all? Not all superheroes have to be Power Rangers," Trip pointed out.

"I suppose we'll never know," Katie sighed.

"I don't know about that. Something tells me we haven't seen the last of our new friend," Jen said.

The blue swirling vortex before to form. Trip quickly picked Camille up, and then walked through the portal. Katie was next, but Jen paused, turning around to see the mysterious ranger standing a few feet away. She nodded to acknowledge him, but he disappeared.


	31. Chapter XXXI: theories

_"Sometimes things happen that are beyond our control. Its how you handle those types of situations that separate those who can lead, and those who only follow," he said_.

_"Sounds like the kind of speech you give before a promotion," he stood up. "Like I said, I'm happy where I am. I'm not really interested in a……" he was cut short_.

_"Just hear me out Tommy," he sat back down. "What I'm offering isn't a promotion, it's a special mission. Consider it a black bag operation," he said_.

_"What do you want me to do?"_

_"To you believe in self-fulfilling prophecies?" Alex asked him_……

Tommy sat up in his bed in a cold sweat. _'A dream,'_ he thought to himself as he stood up, wrapping his housecoat around himself.

It was the third night in a row he'd had the same dream. It always the same; Alex was sitting behind his desk and asked him about self-fulfilling prophecies. But it always stopped there. The thought had been lingering in his mind for a while now as he tried to make sense of the dream, but it all _felt_ so real.

Finally, he dismissed the dream as he headed over to his closet, reaching for his Time Force uniform, but a sharp pain shot through his head. He fell to the ground, holding his head in pain, screaming to the top of his lungs.

~

Jen walked through the halls of Time Force headquarters on her way to _his_ office. There were questions that she knew he would have the answer to, but wonder whether or not he would tell her what was going on. Things were changing in Time Force, and under normal circumstances, changes this big meant something was about to happen. Something serious.

She walked into his office, clearing her throat to get his attention.

"Well, if it isn't _Captain_ Scott," he said, putting down the paperwork he was going over and turning his attention to her.

"Its good to see you Captain Logan," she sighed, smirking slightly.

"Actually," he motioned to the pin on his uniform. "Its _Admiral_ Logan now," he corrected.

"Yes sir. Of course sir," she said firmly as she stood up straight, upset with herself for not noticing sooner.

"You can drop the ranks Jen, it's okay. What can I do for you?" he inquired.

She sat down in the chair in front of his desk. "I need you to tell me what's going on? Why the promotion all of a sudden?" she replied.

"The counsel felt that I would be better off training the new cadets as they came in. I was promoted to Admiral and put in charge of the training division," he said.

"Why was I promoted?"

"You practically ran the place anyway. You deserved the promotion," he said.

"Drop the act Admiral, something is going on. Something is about to happen, something more than likely I'll be forced to clean up. I need to know whats happening,"

He paused. "You know that even if I did know something, I wouldn't be able to share it with you," the Admiral reminded her.

"If Time Force expects me and the other rangers to do your dirty work when the time comes, I expect a straight forward answer from you,"

He sighed. "All I can say is that the counsel is concerned that _something_ is coming. All available employees are being re-directed in the organization to prepare. I was sent to train the new cadets in hand to hand combat and martial arts, you were promoted to Captain, a few ensigns were promoted and given commands of their own. Whatever the counsel is afraid of, its big," he told her.

"What about Tommy's meeting with Alex?"

"I didn't know anything about it," he said.

"They scheduled a meeting, but Tommy said Alex had to reschedule. Since then, Tommy has been getting headaches," Jen pointed out.

"Headaches?"

"The kind of headaches that are usually a side effect of memory adaptation," she told him.

"You think Tommy was given memory adaptation?"

"It explains a lot: the meeting with Alex that never happened, the headaches. It also ties into fact that Time Force is scrambling," she said.

"If you're right, that means that whatever _is_ about to happen, we're not suppose to know about it yet," the Admiral said.

"I don't know about you," she stood up. "But I'm not going to sit around and wait for whatever it is to come after us. I'm going to find out what's going on," Jen said with determine as she headed out the office.

(*)

He opened his eyes slowly, only to find himself in one of the medical bays. He tried to move, but quickly realized that he was strapped down to the bed. He glanced over, where he saw Katie standing next to him.

"Its about time you woke up. You had us worried there for a second," she said.

"What…happened…"

"When you didn't show up to the lab on time, we tried to contact you, but you didn't answer. Trip and I decided to stop by your quarters to see if everything was okay, but we found your unconscious on the floor. We brought you here and the doctors are checkin' you out," she explained.

"Do they know whats wrong with me?"

"Unfortunately no, but we plan on running a few more tests on you," the doctor said as he walked into the room with a clipboard in hand.

"Can you tell us anything about his condition? Why would Tommy just pass out like that?" Katie asked.

"It could be a number of things; lack of sleep, stress in the workplace, anything could force the body to shut down. It's the body's way of healing itself. If you're looking for an official opinion, I think he works too hard, but to be on the safe side, we're going to run a few more tests," he explained.

"I should be fine Katie, really," Tommy sighed, trying to comfort her.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, get to work. I'm sure the others are waiting for you," he told her.

She leaned down, kissing him gently on the forehead, then headed out the medical lab.

~

She walked into the science lab, where Camille and Trip were impatiently waiting to hear something about Tommy's condition.

"What did they say?" Trip asked, not wasting any time.

"The doctor thinks that Tommy is just overworked, that's all. We'll know more in a few hours," she told them.

"Personally, I think there's something _more_ going on," Camille said, injecting herself into the conversation.

"Like what?"

"I think that Tommy is the black ranger," she said.

"What would make you think so?"

"Think about it, it all adds up. Tommy goes to talk to Alex in some top secret meeting, but it never happens. Tommy _claims _they had to reschedule, but he was gone for over two hours. Now hes having weird dreams and headaches," she pointed out.

"That doesn't mean anything," Katie said.

"Think about it: The one mission that Tommy doesn't come with us, and the black ranger shows up to save of us at the last minute," she turned to Trip. "Didn't you say that the black ranger knew we had to get back to the transfer point?" she asked.

"Well, yeah,"

"If the black ranger wasn't from our reality, how would he know that? I say Alex recruited Tommy to be the black ranger, but _that_ much power is beginning to have side effects on him, just like it did 1000 years ago," she said.

"Time Force would never risk Tommy's life by giving him two morphers," Katie said.

"They don't intend on Tommy being two rangers, Alex is more than likely take over as red ranger again," she said.

"It does make sense," Trip agreed.

"I don't buy it. If Tommy were the black ranger, he'd just come out and tell us. He wouldn't try to keep it a secret," she mentioned.

"He isn't keeping it a secret, he doesn't know," they heard a voice say. They turned around and saw Jen as she walked into the science lab. "If your theory is right, Tommy doesn't know he's the black ranger because they gave him memory adaptation," she said.

"But memory adaptation is a one time thing. If they were going to make him the black ranger, they would have to give him the procedure every time he used the morpher if they didn't want to him to tell anyone," Camille said.

"That would do serious damage to his subconscious, and the effects would leave him with permanent memory loss, severe headaches, maybe even brain damage," Trip added.

"Then you have to consider that the technology needed to create that level of sophistication is beyond our capabilities. Even if Trip and I worked on it for months, we wouldn't be able to construct a morpher with _that_ much power," she added. 

"Its just a theory, but to be sure, we're going to test that theory," Jen told him.

"How?"

"I have a plan," she sighed. "Trip, how long before the slipstream is ready to go?" she asked.

"Give me two minutes Captain," he said, rushing over to the control panels.

"Set it for coordinates 139741.6," she said.

He quickly inputted the coordinates. "But Jen, those are _temporal_ coordinates, that will take us to…" he was cut short.

"I know where it leads Trip," she told him.

"I'm ready when you are," he sighed, activating the portal.

Without a second thought, Jen walked through the portal.

"What is she up to?" Katie asked.

"I don't know, but this is going to be interesting," Camille said as she followed suit, walking through the portal.

Trip was next, and finally, Katie let out a reluctant sigh as she stepped through. Moments later, the portal disappeared.

(*)

"Is everyone okay?" Jen asked, making sure everyone was accounted for.

"We're good," Trip said, speaking for the group.

All of them got a good look around the room. It appeared to be the science lab, but it was much darker. The room wasn't very well lit, but Camille recognized it right away. "Oh God," she sighed.

"What is it Cammy?" he asked.

"This is prison planet," she groaned.

"You've been here before?"

"Camille, the other Katie and I came here once with Tommy, but we were able to escape just in time. This time, we're not trying to escape," Jen told them.

"Why?"

Before she could answer, Jen headed out the room and down a hallway, coming to the end. The others followed, and Jen quickly pulled out of disrupter, firing at the wall, blasting a huge hole in it.

"What are you doing?"

"If memory serves me correctly, prison planet is surrounded by a dome that keeps them safe. Outside the dome are creatures, which is where prisoners go when they are exiled from the prison," she said.

"You're _trying_ to leave the prison?" Katie asked.

"Yup," she said, walking through the hole she created.

Reluctantly, the others followed her, coming to the edge of the dome itself. It was transparent, allowing them to see through to the other side. The surface of the planet was rocky, and it seemed to be glowing red. The wind was blowing violently, made obvious by the huge rocks rolling pass the dome.

"Everyone set your disrupters on the highest setting and fire," Jen said.

"Where?"

"Here," she told them, blasting a small hole in the dome.

"But Jen, if we do, the dome will collapse and…"

"You have your orders Lt, carry them out," she snapped.

Without question, the others put their disrupters on the highest setting and aimed for the exact spot Jen was shooting. Soon, the dome began to crack, and seconds later, the entire thing collapsed, allowing the winds to come through the dome. The strength of the wind was enough to knock all of them over, but Jen was quickly back to her feet.

_"TIME FOR, TIME FORCE,"_ she called out, morphing into the pink ranger, then called for her chrono saber and went through the hole in the dome.

"Shes trying to get us killed," Camille said. "I'm not going out there,"

"Trust me, if those creatures out of there, they'll eventually find their way in here too. Its no safer waiting here," Trip said.

"Alright guys, lets go," Katie said.

_"TIME FOR, TIME FORCE,"_ they all called out, replacing their clothes with their rangers uniforms, then quickly called for their sabers as well.

They stepped through the hole in the dome and made their way towards Jen, who was battling with a huge creature of some sort. He had to be almost five feet tall with scales covering it's entire body, and long, sharp claws.

It backhanded Jen, knocking her up against the side of a cave. Katie checked on her as Camille and Trip double-teamed the creature. Trip went for a leg sweep as Camille hit a spin kick, knocking it over. As Trip stood up, Camille did a flip, landing on Trip's shoulders, then used him for extra momentum as she did a flip in mid air, coming down and stabbing the creature in the chest. It let out a sickening roam as blood poured out the open wound.

"Is Jen okay?" Trip asked as he turned around, only to see another creature was attacking them.

Trip rushed towards them to help, but a spider-like creature grabbed from behind Camille, actually wrapping Camille in a web. "Trip, help me!" she screamed.

Trip threw his chrono saber at the spider creature, stabbing it in the eye, which gave Camille enough time to cut herself free from the web. They raced over to Jen and Katie, but two more creatures came out the cave, attacking them.

The spider creature got the saber out it's eye, using the web to entangle Trip and Camille. The two of them fell to the ground trying to get free, but couldn't.

Katie picked one of the creatures up, throwing it at the spider creature, knocking them both over, then tried to free Trip and Camille. "This stuff is too sticky, there's nothing I can do," she cried.

The four of them found themselves surrounded by a group of beasts, each of them closing in slowly. Just then, the black ranger appeared out of nowhere.

"Looks like you guys could use some help," the ranger said as golden blades extended from his forearms.

He rushed at the spider creature, slicing off four of its legs, knocking it down. Another creature rushed at him, but the black ranger dropped to the ground and held his arms upward, stabbing the creature in the stomach as he tried to pounce on him. Three more creatures made a move, but the black ranger pulled a disrupter out, and with one in each hand, blasted holes in the creatures. Soon, the remaining creatures retreated, allowing the black ranger to use his blades to free Trip and Camille.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, thanks to you," Camille said.

"You should get out of here, this world isn't safe. How did the dome collapse?" he asked.

Trip tried to answer, but Jen cut him off. "We don't know. When we arrived here, it was broken. We came out here to fight the creatures so none of them would get through," she said, limping over to him.

"I'll make the necessary repairs, but the rest of you better get back to the lab. If any of those creatures did make it through the dome, I'll take care of them too,"

"Who are you?" Katie asked.

"A friend," he sighed, and then disappeared.

(*)

The four of them stepped through the portal, finding themselves back in the science lab. Trip headed for the control panel, shutting down the slipstream.

"What the hell were you trying to do Jen? Get us all killed?" Camille snapped.

"Another outburst like that and I'll have you relieved of duty Lt. Is that understood?" she asked calmly.

"Yes sir," she moaned, making it obvious that she was still upset.

"Jen, you're hurt," Trip noticed, observing a huge gash on her side.

"I'm going to get down to the medical bay and have them patch me up. Here," she reached for her morpher, powering down, then handed the morpher to him. "Download all the audio my morpher recorded into the main computer, then isolate our voices from the black rangers," she told him.

"Why?"

"She wants to use his voice to identify him," Camille said, finally realizing what Jen had been up to.

"Almost everything in Time Force is controlled by voice authorization, so compare the black ranger's voice to every voice identification we have in the Time Force data base, starting with Tommy. If it is him, I need to know," she said, holding her side as she walked out the room.

~

Jen walked into the medical lab, only to find that Tommy was gone. She glanced around the room, but there was no sign on him. "Just what I thought," she sighed as she sat down on one of the examining tables.

"Who are you talking to?" a voice asked.

She glanced up and saw Tommy walking towards her. "Where did you come from?" she inquired.

"I was in the bathroom," he noticed the gash on her side. "What happened to you?" he replied.

"You don't know?"

"How would I, I've been in here all day," he pointed out.

"Oh yeah, that's right," she sighed in an unconvincing tone.

"I'll find the doctor so you can get cleaned up," he said, walking out the room.

Jen watched him walk out the room as she leaned back, lying down on the examining table. "Sooner or later, I'm going to find out your secret Tommy Oliver," she sighed.


	32. Chapter XXXII: theories pt 2

_"I'm sending you on a mission. What happens in the next few minutes is completely classifieds. No one must know what we're going here, it's imperative to maintain the continuity of the time stream. Not even your fellow rangers can know," Alex explained_.

_"I understand_,_"_

_Alex walked over to the controls and pushed a button, opening a door at the back of the room, revealing a time ship. "When you get inside, you'll see that the coordinates have already been set and the auto pilot is engaged. The parameters of your mission will be explained in the files you find in the ship, and after you read them, they must be destroyed. Follow out the instructions to the letter, then return here for de-briefing and memory adaptation," Alex instructed_.

_"Memory adaptation_?_"_

_"It's a standard procedure. When you return, memories of the mission will be erased from your memory to preserve the timeline," he said_.

_"Understood," he said as he nodded slightly, heading towards the time ship_……

Tommy woke up in a cold sweat, only to find himself in the medical bay. He wiped the sweat away from his eyes, taking deep breaths to calm down. _'Another dream,'_ he sighed, but this one had been different. The previous dreams were always fuzzy and inconclusive. When he woke up, he could never remember much of it, but this time, he was able to remember a little more.

_'There was a mission'_ he thought to himself, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't recall talking to Alex about that mission. _'What was I suppose to do? Did I do it? Where did I go in a time ship?'_ he wondered. As he began to calm down, he felt his memory slipping away. Suddenly, he wasn't able to remember as much as he once did.

He stumbled off the examining table and headed to the bathroom, splashing some cold water on his face. He glanced at himself in the mirror, not realizing how bad he looked until that moment. There were bags under his eyes, and his eyes were red, probably from not sleeping as much as he should. Then, in the distance, he heard a voice. It was muffled, so he didn't recognize it offhand, so he quickly walked out the bathroom where he saw _her._

"Who are you talking to?" he asked.

She glanced up and saw Tommy walking towards her. "Where did you come from?" she inquired.

"I was in the bathroom," he noticed the gash on her side. "What happened to you?" he replied.

"You don't know?"

"How would I, I've been in here all day," he pointed out.

"Oh yeah, that's right," she sighed in an unconvincing tone.

"I'll find the doctor so you can get cleaned up," he said, walking out the room.

He hurried into the hallway, stopping the first doctor he saw. "What is it Tommy?" the doctor asked, sounding concerned.

"It's Jen, theres something wrong with her," he said, motioning for him to follow.

The doctor headed into the medical bay with Tommy, getting a good look at Jen. "Looks like you broke a few ribs, and there may be some internal bleeding," he mentioned.

"What happened?"

"We got into it with some creatures on another world. Nothing we couldn't handle," Jen told them.

"Are any of the others hurt?"

"No, they're fine. Thanks to the black ranger," she said.

He paused. "Who?"

"The black ranger. He seems to come just in the nick of time to save us," she said.

"Who is he?"

"We don't know, that's what I was trying to find out," she said.

Just then, Admiral Logan walked into the medical bay with a serious look on his face. Tommy noticed him, nodding slightly.

"How you feeling Lt. Oliver?" he inquired.

"Just fine sir. I'll be out of here in no time," he said eagerly.

"Good to hear. I need you to give the Captain and I a moment alone," he said.

"Of course," he turned to Jen. "I hope you feel better," he said, then walked out the room.

The Admiral waited until Tommy was gone, then walked over to Jen. "I read Katie's report. What the hell were trying to prove back there?" he snapped.

"I was attempting to find out the identity of the black ranger sir," she said.

"By getting yourself and the best of your team killed? You _knew_ that prison planet was a hostile environment, yet you led your team there and engaged a group of creatures for no reason at all. You put yourself on the line, the lives of your team mates, and makes me seriously consider stripping you of your rank and position," he snapped.

Jen stood up, shoving the doctor aside. "I took the others to prison planet because I _knew _the black ranger would show up and save us. We were never in any serious danger, and just as I expected, he showed up just in time to make the save. I did what I felt was necessary to gather the information I needed. If you want to suspend me, fine. You do what you feel you have to. _Sir,_" she said coldly.

"Damn it Jennifer, these are trying times for Time Force. We need everyone at 100%, especially you and your unit. If you're going to run off half cocked the next time you want to prove a point, I'll demote you and have your ass handing out parking tickets in front of the academy. Do I make myself clear?" he snapped at her.

"Perfectly clear," she sighed.

"Now, what were you able to find out?" he asked, shifting gears.

"I was able to record the black ranger's voice with my morpher, and I have Trip and Camille analyzing it now. Its only a matter of time before we know who he is," she told him.

"Although I question your methods, you did good work. Until the doctor gives you a clean bill of health, you are confined to this medical bay," he said.

"What?" she snapped.

"Like I said, I need everyone at 100%, and right now you're not. I will assign someone to command your unit until you are on your feet again," he said.

"Who did you have in mind?"

"Commander Collins," the Admiral said.

"You're giving my team to Alex? That's unacceptable," she said.

"No, those are my orders. Now get some rest," he said, walking out the room.

"Yes sir," she mumbled with distain.

(*)

"I'll make the necessary repairs, but the rest of you better get back to the lab. If any of those creatures did make it through the dome, I'll take care of them too,"           

"Computer. Analyze voice and cross reference it with all known voice identifications within Time Force," Camille said, sitting down in front of the computer.

'Working,' the computer answered.

"Do you think this will work?" Trip asked, walking over to her.

"It has to. I don't agree with how she did it, but it was an excellent idea to record his voice and has us analyze it. If its anyone in Time Force, we'll find out in a minute," she said.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said.

"You sure?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" she asked him.

"Well," he paused. "I'm still a little upset that I wasn't able to help you back there," he sighed.

She turned around, looking him in the eyes. "You did what you could honey, I don't blame you for what happened. Besides, I'm okay," she assured him.

"You're sure?"

"Trip, if something were wrong, I'd tell you," she said.

'Analysis complete,' the computer announced.

The two of them turned their attention to the screen, going over the readings. "According to this, whoever the black ranger is, he isn't from Time Force," Trip said.

"Could the black ranger be masking his voice?"

"I doubt it. A voiceprint is like a fingerprint, and it can't be altered. Whoever this guy is, it isn't anyone from Time Force," he told her.

"Maybe we're going about this the wrong way," she said.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean we're thinking small. We're assuming that the black ranger is from Time Force, and that is limiting our search parameters," she turned to the control panel. "Computer. Extend search parameters to all former rangers in file," she said.

_'Working,'_ the computer announced.

"What are you up to Cammy?" he asked her.

"I think that the black ranger is a former ranger, maybe someone from the past or even another reality. If that's the case, the computer should be able to access the files we have available on former rangers and come up with a positive ID," she said.

"Theres a flaw there. The computer doesn't have a complete account of every ranger. Voice logs weren't kept until the formation of the Lightspeed rangers. If the black ranger is anyone before that time, the computer wouldn't have a clue," Trip pointed out.

"Now you're thinking too big. If we can rule out every ranger prior to Operation: Lightspeed, it will be reasonable to assume that the black ranger is from one of the original Earth-bound ranger teams," she said.

"That only leaves the Mighty Morphin' rangers, the Zeo rangers, the Turbo rangers, the astro rangers and the lost galaxy rangers," he said.

"Considering that Tommy and the original five rangers were part of the original ranger teams, Zeo and turbo, we should be able to narrow it down until we find out who this guy is," Camille told him.

"Good work boo,"

"I try," she sighed.

Just then, Alex walked into the science lab, making his way over to the control panels. "What are you two doing?" he asked.

"Running a search," they turned to him. "What can we do for you sir?" Trip asked.

"Jen has been injured, and Admiral Logan has put me in control of this unit until she is able to return. The admiral is waiting for the both of you in deck eight," he told them.

"Why?"

"I didn't question the admiral's order, and neither should you," Alex said coldly.

"Yes sir," Camille said as the two of them walked away. Alex watched as the two of them exited the lab, then turned to the control panel. 

_'Analysis complete, voice match found,'_ the computer announced.

Alex stared at the screen in disbelief. "I can't believe they did it," he paused. "Computer, delete all files pertaining to search parameters and delete all audio files recorded by pink morpher," he instructed.

_'Authorization required,'_ the computer said.

"Authorization Collins Omega 615 beta," he said.

_'Files deleted,'_ the computer told him.

Alex pulled a disc out of the drive, sliding it until his back pocket as he walked out the lab. Just then, Katie peeked her head around the corner. She waited until the doors to the lab closed before she walked over to the controls.

"That bastard," she sighed.


	33. Chapter XXXIII: theories pt 3

"Computer, delete all files pertaining to search parameters and delete all audio files recorded by pink morpher," he instructed.

_'Authorization required,'_ the computer said.

"Authorization Collins Omega 615 beta," he said.

_'Files deleted,'_ the computer told him.

Alex pulled a disc out of the drive, sliding it until his back pocket as he walked out the lab. Just then, Katie peeked her head around the corner. She waited until the doors to the lab closed before she walked over to the controls.

"That bastard," she sighed.

She tried to retrieve the data that was erased, but couldn't find any signs of it. Katie let out a sigh of frustration as she sat down in front of the control panel, trying to think of something… anything. _'If he deleted everything, including the audio from Jen's morpher, there's nothing I can do,'_ she thought to herself. Then it occurred to her. _'The files from their first search may still be in the mainframe,'_ she remembered.

"Computer, show all search parameters initiated within the last thirty five minutes," she said.

_'Working,'_ the computer announced.

A few moments later, a list of searches appeared on the screen. "Alex managed to delete file 1784 beta," she mumbled. "Computer, open file 1784 alpha," she ordered.

The file opened, and Katie read over it quickly. "All right computer, I need you analyze the voice sample on file and cross check it with all ranger profiles," she said.

_'There is no voice sample on file,'_ the computer told her.

She paused. "Okay," she sighed. "Computer, use the search parameters from file 1784 alpha and extend that search to all ranger profiles and search for a positive match," she said.

_'Working,'_ the computer announced.

While she waited, she tried to understand why Alex would purposely try to withhold information from them. _'You'd think he want us to know who the black ranger is,'_ she thought. _'Then again, Alex has a history of keeping us in the dark,'_ she recalled.

When Alex had critical information about their mission to the 21st century to capture Ransik, he deceieved them by allowing them to believe he was dead. Then, he withheld information about the shifts in the time line, which may have helped them capture Ransik quicker. 

"Well, whatever you're up to Commander Collins, your time is up," Katie said.

~

Trip and Camille stepped off the elevator on deck eight, where Admiral Logan greeted them in the hallway.

"You wanted to see us sir?" Camille asked.

"I'm sorry, both of you," he sighed.

"Sir?" Trip inquired, unsure what the Admiral was trying to say.

Just then, a group of Time Force officers grabbed Trip and Camille from behind, forcing their arms behind their backs. Another officer pulled out a needle, injecting both of them with something. Soon, both Trip and Camille were unconscious.

The Admiral looked on with a heavy heart as the two of them fell to the ground. "Get both of them to memory adaptation at once," he sighed.

"Yes admiral," one of the officers said as they helped Camille and Trip up, taking them away.

(*)

_"To you believe in self-fulfilling prophecies?" Alex asked him_.

_"What do you mean_?_"_

_"Didn't it seem strange to you that the history logs didn't give exact details about how Shin Getti was stopped in the 21st century? These types of events are carefully worded to avoid any confusion, to ensure that things don't become too complicated. Truth is, outside influence was necessary for the timeline to progress naturally. If you and the others hadn't traveled to that point in time, Operation_:_ Lightspeed would have never gotten off the ground. Shin Getti would have taken over the world, and history would have been changed. That's why Time Force is important, especially the Slipstream division. You and your unit are the missing links in the timeline; ensure that things flow according to plan. The mission I'm offering you now is a chance to ensure that history once again flows smoothly," he told him_.__

_"How_?_"_

_Alex walked behind his desk again, opening a drawer and pulling out a small white sphere, tossing it to Tommy. Tommy quickly caught it, getting a good look at it._

_"What is this?" Tommy asked._

_"It's a second chance," he sighed_…

Tommy opened his eyes again, only to find himself in the medical bay, but it wasn't the one he'd been in the last few days. This one was different, much different, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. There were doctors across the room going through papers along with a Time Force officer. Tommy's vision was a bit blurry, but thanks to the trademark sunglasses, he recognized Alex. They were talking about something, and judging by the tones in their voices, it was something important. Tommy closed his eyes as one of the doctors glanced towards him.

One of the doctors walked over to Tommy with a clipboard in hand. "We've examined him again. The only thing we can think of it that his DNA was altered by the radiation over exposure. Because of that radiation, the memory adaptation wasn't as effective as we hoped for," he said.

"What do you mean?" Alex inquired.

"He constantly comes into the medical bay complaining about headaches. Because of his condition, the adaptation procedure was only about 65% effective. He has dreams that his dismisses as re-occurring dreams, but are actually suppressed memories. It is only a matter of time before his memory returns fully," he said.

"What are the risks to him if we gave him the procedure again?"

"It isn't recommended for anyone to receive the memory adaptation procedure more than once every six months to a year. Lt. Oliver was given the procedure less than a week ago; to give him another _this_ soon could result in permanent brain damage. Then, considering his unique condition, another procedure could kill him," he explained.

"Our options are very limited here,"

"Yes sir," the doctor said.

"The information Tommy has cannot fall into the wrong hands. If it did, the balance of power in the universe would shift, and the world as we know it would come to an end. It may become necessary to give him the procedure again, regardless of the risks to him," Alex said.

"Are you saying you want us to kill him?"

"Only as a last resort," he sighed.

"I understand your position commander, but I'm a doctor. I'm sworn to do no harm. I speak for my entire medical staff when I say none of us will approve this procedure, and if it means going against your direct orders, so be it," he told him.

Alex took off his sunglasses. "I can appreciate your position in this doctor, but if you or any of your staff refuse one of my orders, you will leave me with no choice but to relieve you of your duties here," he explained.

"Do what you feel is necessary commander, but we will not allow you or anyone to do bodily harm to one of our patients,"

"The ends justify the means,"

"Not from where I stand. If you didn't want such sensitive information to fall into the wrong hands, you shouldn't have entrusted it to my patient. And I assure you commander, if you try to relieve me or any of my staff for refusing to give our patient a procedure that is potentially life threatening, we won't be the only ones out of a job, _sir,_" he said with a tone of distain in his voice.

Without a word, Alex put his sunglasses back on, walking out the room.

(*)

Jen tried her best to get comfortable as she laid in the medical bay. Her ribs had been taped up and her injuries tended to, but that wasn't what was bothering her. _'I can't believe whats going on. Either Tommy is lying to us or Alex is brainwashing him so he can't tell us who the black ranger is, now Logan gives Alex my command. When I get out of here, I'm going to…'_ her thoughts were interrupted when the doors to the medical bay opened and Katie walked in.

"Jen, we have to go," she said, rushing over to her.

"I can't, I've been confined to the medical bay until the doctor gives me a clean bill of health," she told her.

"Trip and Camille ran a search on the voice pattern you recorded and they found out who the black ranger is, but before they could go over the readings Alex ordered them to report to deck eight," she said.

Jen sat up. "Memory adaptation," she mentioned.

Katie nodded. "After that, he deleted all the files pertaining the black ranger search. Well, at least he _thought_ he did," she said.

"What do you mean _thought_ he did?"

"He managed to erase one of the files, but I have the information from their preliminary search. I ran the search again, and I was able to find out a few things," Katie told her.

"What do you know?"

"All I know is that the voice pattern of the black ranger doesn't match any that we have on file," she said.

"That's not doing us any good Katie,"

"Yes, it is. Now we can narrow down our search. Voice ID wasn't started until Operation: Lightspeed, so we know it isn't anyone who was a ranger _after_ that point. That narrows it down to former rangers _before_ Lightspeed," she said.

"That's still a lot of rangers,"

"I know, but rule out that its Tommy, because his file _is_ in the system. It's probably save to rule out the Astro rangers too, considering they were in space during most of their tenure as rangers. All we have to do now is figure out if it's a ranger from the Mighty Morphin team, the Zeo team, the Turbo team of the Lost Galaxy rangers," Katie said.

"We're back to square one then,"

"No, think about it: Tommy was a ranger during most of those eras, with the exception of Lost Galaxy. If Alex sent Tommy on a mission and erased his memory, it means…"

"… it means Alex sent him back in time to recruit one of his friends," Jen said.

"Exactly,"

"But who?"

"If we want to find that out, we need to get into Alex' office and go through some of his files. If nothing else, we may be able to find out to what point in time he sent Tommy," she told her.

"Do you have a plan?"

"Of course I do," Katie told her.

~

Trip and Camille walked into the science lab, glancing around the room. It was the same lab, everything was where it should be, but for some reason, something seemed wrong. 

"I've got the strangest feeling…" he was cut short.

"I have it too. What's going on?" Camille asked.

"Maybe we're on a mission and this is an alternate reality," he suggested.

"I don't remember going on a mission. The last thing I remember is…" she paused, trying to gather her thoughts. "That's weird, I can't remember anything," she sighed.

Trip paused, but came up short as well. "Someone was here with us, and we were doing something, but that's all I know," he added.

"What's going on?"

"There's a lot going on you guys," Katie said as she walked into the room along with Jen.

"For the benefit of those who just tuned in, can we get a recap?" Camille asked.

"Tommy was given the memory adaptation procedure so he couldn't tell us who the black ranger was, but he keeps having nightmares. I suspect his sub-conscious is trying to remember whatever the procedure was suppose to block out. Do you guys remember going a search to find a voice match on the black ranger?" Jen inquired.

"No," Trip said.

"Well, you did, but you found out more than our superiors wanted you to know. You were sent to memory adaptation too," Katie said.

"That's why I can't remember the last few hours," she sighed.

"So what did our search for the black ranger turn up?" Trip asked them.

"Not much, but we did manage to narrow down our options. Alex erased most of the data, but I managed to reconstruct some of it. Tommy was sent on some sort of mission to recruit a new ranger, but Alex is doing everything he can to make sure we don't know who it is," Katie said.

"That doesn't make sense. He has to know that sooner or later we'll find out who the black ranger is, so why go through all the trouble of hiding his identity?" Camille asked.

"That isn't what he's trying to hide," they heard a voice say.

They turned around as Tommy walked into the room.

"What do you mean?"

"I overheard Alex talking to one of the doctors earlier. He said something about me having information that, if it fell into the wrong hands, would shift the balance of power in the universe. I doubt that the black ranger's identity is _that_ important," he pointed out.

"Agreed, but Alex is going through an awful lot of trouble to make sure we don't know what's happening," Trip said.

"I have a plan to get into Alex' office and go through some of his files. Maybe I can find a clue as to what Tommy's mission was. If we can figure that out, we'll be a lot closer to solving this mystery," Katie said.

"I like mysteries. Can I be Shaggy?" Camille asked.

"Who?"

"Shaggy. You know, like Shaggy and Scooby," she elaborated, but the rest of them seemed to have no idea what she was talking about. "Oh, so I'm the only one who enjoys 21st century cartoons, right?"

"I liked Frankie Chan," Jen mentioned.

"I was always a sucker for musicals," Katie added.

"We're getting off track here. What's your plan Katie?" Tommy asked, changing the subject.

"All I need is a distraction. Someone get Alex' attention while I switch on the cloak and ramble through his files," she said.

"That's your plan?"

"Yes."

"Pretty simple," Trip said.

"Sorry it wasn't as complicated as you were hoping for," she said.

"I think I can find a way to occupy Alex' attention for a few minutes, just signal me when you're finished," Jen said.

"Got it,"

"Trip, you and Camille see if you can dig anything else up on the identity of the black ranger. Maybe go through some of the inactive members of Time Force and see what you come up with," Jen instructed as she picked her morpher up, putting it back on her wrist.

"We're on it," Camille and Trip said in unison.

"Tommy, you get back to the medical bay. If they know you're walking around, they might suspect something," she said.

"Right," he turned to walk away, but stopped a few feet away from the door, turning to Camille. "And for the record, the best cartoon back then was Dragonball Z," he told her, and then walked away.

Camille smiled.


	34. Chapter XXXIV: Balance of power

When he stepped down as a ranger, he was convinced he would never be called on again. _'I've done my part; I've saved the world. The world owes me now,'_ he thought to himself. Though walking away from his life as a ranger wasn't as easy as he expected it to be, he knew it was the right decision. He'd finally come to a point in his life where he was happy _without_ his powers; with the extra time on his hands, he was able to dedicate more time to things he enjoyed. It had given him the chance to spend time with his family, his friends, with _her_, but unfortunately, fate had other plans for him.

"Lights," he said as he walked into his quarters. As the lights came on, he headed for the living room, sitting down on the couch and letting out a sigh of relief. Things had been difficult the last few days, readjusting to life as a ranger again, being forced adapt to a whole new way of life.

He glanced down at the morphers on his wrists, admiring them. It was unlike anything he'd ever seen before. It was smaller than the average, much more slender, but a little longer than a normal morpher. Instead of only one morpher, there were two, each of them going more than half way up his forearm. They were black with gold trimming, with a small screen on the left one.

He had to admit, the black morphers were more powerful than he'd ever seen before. From the second Alex gave them to him, he could feel the power surging through his body. Becoming a ranger again wasn't his first choice, but given the circumstances, he was more than willing to help.

Just then, the morpher began to beep. He quickly reached for it, pressing a button. A holographic representation of Alex appeared, almost as if Alex were in the room with him.

"What can I do for you Alex?"

_'How are you feeling?'_ he asked him.

"If you're asking as there any side effects, no. I feel just fine,"

_'I was a bit concerned about the radiation levels coming from the morphers, and I'd still like you to come down to headquarters from an examination. You know, just to be sure,'_ Alex told him.

"If you insist, but I really am fine,"

_'Glad to hear it. Report to my office today at 1300 hours. I'll have a doctor meet us there,'_ he said.

"Understood,"

(*)

_"When you get inside, you'll see that the coordinates have already been set and the auto pilot is engaged. The parameters of your mission will be explained in the files you find in the ship, and after you read them, they must be destroyed. Follow out the instructions to the letter, then return here for de-briefing and memory adaptation," Alex instructed_.

_"Memory adaptation_?_"_

_"It's a standard procedure. When you return, memories of the mission will be erased from your memory to preserve the timeline," he said_.__

_"Understood," he said as he nodded slightly, heading towards the time ship_.__

_A small hatch opened, allowing Tommy inside. As soon as he was on board, the hatch closed behind him, and he took a seat in front of the control panel. Just as Alex mentioned, there was a vanilla folder sitting on the control panel_.

_'Course set and locked. Do you wish to disembark?' the computer asked him_.__

_The voice startled him, breaking his concentration as he read over the files. "Oh, um, yes. I wish to disembark," he said_.

_'Engaging engines,' the computer announced_.__

_A time hole began to open in the sky. The ship lifted off the launch pad, leading from the vortex as it disappeared into it_……

Tommy didn't even bother to sit up this time. Over the last week, he'd grown use to the dreams, waking up in a cold sweat. As usual, he was able to retain more of the dream. _'I was on a time ship, and there was a vanilla folder,'_ he thought to himself. He tried to recall what the files in the folders said, but was drawing a complete blank.

_'Come on Tommy, think,'_ he said to himself, realizing how important it was to remember. Alex mentioned something about the balance of power in the universe shifting, and if it was _that_ important, he knew he had to remember something.

He tried, but his head began to throb. He howled out in pain as he rolled off the examining table, hitting the floor with a thud. The doctor rushed into the room, tending to him.

"Tommy, are you okay?"

"Why can't I remember?" Tommy screamed.

"Memory adaptation is designed to block the synaptic pathways associated with short term and long term memory. You don't remember because you're not suppose to," he said.

"So why am I having these dreams?"

"As a result of your DNA being altered in a molecular level, the memory adaptation procedure wasn't as effective as it should have been. You'll more than likely continue to have the dreams," he said.

"But why?"

"Your DNA is forcing the synaptic pathways to unblock themselves, which explains the headaches you're feeling," he said as he helped him up.

Tommy sat down on the examining table. "When will the headaches stop?"

"When your memory returns fully, the headaches will stop. It could take 48 to 72 hours, or it could happen right now. Honestly, there has never been a time when someone was able to regain their memory after the procedure. This is as new to me as it is to you," he told him.

"Thank you Dr. Hamilton, for everything,"

"What do you mean?"

"I heard you and Commander Collins talking the other day, and I know what he wants to do. I appreciate the things you said, but if the balance of power in the universe really does hinge on the information I have in my synaptic whatever-you-call-it, maybe it _is_ worth the risk of giving…" he was cut short.

"I swore to do no harm Lt. Oliver, and that's an oath I plan to keep. Your sacrifice is noted, but not necessary," he told him.

"Thanks doc," he sighed.

(*)

Jen and Katie stood outside Alex' office, going over the plan one more time.

"Just go in there and do whatever you have to to get him out of there. Once he's gone, I'll switch on the cloak and see what I can find," she said.

"But how do I get him out?"

"Show'em some cleavage or something, I don't know. Whatever it takes," Katie said.

"Maybe you should show'em some cleavage. You have more than I do," she admitted.

"Too bad Camille isn't here. She's got some jugs on her that would…" she was cut short.

"Katie!" she mumbled, interrupting her.

"Look, Alex isn't secretly in love with me. Just go in there and do what you have to. I'm sure you'll think of something," she said.

Jen sighed. "Fine," she groaned as she tapped on the door, not even waiting for him to respond before she peeked her head in.

"Jen?" Alex mumbled as he looked up.

She walked in, only to find that Nadira was sitting in front of his desk wearing a Time Force uniform. "I didn't know you were in a meeting, sorry," she sighed.

"No, Nadira and I are done here," he told her.

Nadira stood up. "Thank you again sir. You won't be sorry," she said cheerfully, walking out the room.

"You let Nadira join Time Force? What about the no mutant law?" she inquired.

"These are desperate times for Time Force, and we need all the help we can get. Nadira has been instrumental in Time Force's survival in the past, and when the counsel asked who I felt should be given a chance, I chose her," he told her.

"That was nice of you,"

Alex glanced at the clock on the wall. "We have to make this quick, I have an appointment at 1300 hours. What can I do for you?" he asked her.

She paused. "I just thought it would be nice to come see you. With everything that's been going on, I thought you could use a friendly face. Besides, I get kinda lonely cooped up in that stuffy medical lab," she said, tempted to unzip her uniform and take Katie's advice.

"What are the doctors saying?"

"That I should be okay to go back to work in the next few days," she paused. "You've got a few minutes, we should go grab a cup of coffee or something before your appointment," she mentioned, trying to get him out the office.

"Sorry, I can't. I have to meet someone in the examining room. Can I take a rain check?" he asked.

"Sure,"

"Come on, I'll walk you back to the medical bay," he said as he motioned towards the door. The two of them walked out the office, heading down the hallway.

Katie waited until both of them were gone, then switched on the cloak, quietly heading into Alex' office.

~

"I've gone over this a hundred times and I can't figure out who the damn black ranger is. I'm beginning to think we were seeing things," Trip sighed with frustration as he put his head down on the control panel.

Camille walked up behind him, massaging his shoulders. "Calm down Trip, I'm sure we'll find something. We did the first time," she mentioned.

"Yeah, too bad Alex had our minds wiped,"

"What happens to memories once they're erased?" she asked.

"They aren't actually erased, they're suppressed. They're buried in the subconscious, making it nearly impossible for the human mind to recall them," he told her.

"So if the memories are still there, shouldn't we be able to access them somehow?"

"We could, but the procedure could kill the average person. Memory adaptation isn't something you play around with, it could cause all types of mental disorders," he said.

"So trying to reverse the procedure on Tommy…"

"… would probably kill him," he said.

"I guess we can rule that one out," Camille sighed.

"Black ranger aside, what could Alex be talking about that would shift the balance of power in the universe? What could be _that_ important that he wouldn't want us to know about it?" Trip asked her.

"I think I have the answer to that," they heard a voice say.

They turned around as Tommy walked into the room with a folder in his hand.

"How ya feeling Tommy?" Camille asked.

"Much better. I had another one of those dreams, and this time I was able to remember a lot more. I remember going on a mission, but I'm not sure to where yet. Alex told me there was a folder with all the information I would need inside, and to destroy it after I'd read it. Somehow it occurred to me to hold onto the folder just in case," he handed them the folder. "I must have put the folder in my locker before I went to memory adaptation," he told them.

Trip opened the folder and began to read through the files. "Oh my God," he sighed.

"What? What is it?" she asked.

"It says that Alex was contacted by someone from the future and was given certain technology, technology which should only be used when destiny takes a wrong turn," he said.

"The future?"

"From the files, someone from the year 3031 visited Alex forewarning him about impending danger to Time Force, and giving him instructions of how to repair the time line. It says that an Admiral Kelly Summers gave him a small white sphere, a sphere that restores a persons life force," he said.

"You mean bring someone back from the dead?" Tommy asked.

"Not quite back from the dead, but it does heal all injuries within a certain time. According to this, a life force can be restored almost a full three minutes after death," he explained.

"How is that possible?"

"I don't know, but it's reasonable to assume that they've perfected it in the future. It also says here that the sphere was originally tested on Alan Collins in the year 2001," he said.

"But I thought you said it was from the future?"

He paused. "I remember when Alex came to the 21st century during our mission to capture Ransik. He told Wes that his father would die, but somehow, Mr. Collins pulled through and history was changed," he recalled.

"Are you saying that Alex gave the sphere to Mr. Collins long enough to cure him and purposely changed history?" Tommy asked.

"I'm saying that if this Admiral Summers told him that Mr. Collins wasn't suppose to die, Alex would have gone back to save him. It was never confirmed, but everyone always suspected that Alex was a descendant of Wes, considering they're DNA was a match," Trip speculated.

"So if Alex gave Tommy this sphere, who did he use it on?" Camille asked.

Trip turned to the computer. "Computer, run a search for all former rangers on file and cross reference it with unexplained disappearances," he said.

_'Working,'_ the computer announced.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm willing to bet that if Alex gave Tommy this sphere to restore someone's life force, history logs would have some reports of that person disappearing mysteriously after death. If that's the case, it should lead us right to the black ranger," he said.

"Can you imagine what would happen if the world knew that the technology existed to bring people back from the dead?" Tommy sighed.

"People would stop at nothing to possess something like that. They could live forever, and in the wrong hands, the results could be deadly," Camille said.

"Sounds like the kinda stuff that _shifting the balance of power in the universe_ is made of," Trip pointed out.

"So all the secrecy about the black ranger doesn't really have anything to do with the black ranger. Alex was concerned that we'd find out about the sphere," she said.

"It's best that after we find out what we need to know, we wipe the computer logs clean so no one else finds out what we know," he said.

"Good idea,"

_'Inquiry complete,'_ the computer said, displaying a list of names on the screen.

"Alright, one of these people on the list _have_ to be the black ranger," Trip said.

"Aisha Campbell disappeared shortly after the Zeo quest in 1996, it could be her," Camille brought up.

"This list is still too long, there has to be a way to narrow it down," he said.

"You have to assume that Alex wouldn't risk giving the black ranger powers to someone who had been exposed to several different types of radiation like I was. It would just be too dangerous for them," he paused. "Computer, narrow the search parameters to rangers who have been part of less than three incarnations of ranger teams," he said.

_'Working,'_ the computer said.

"Good thinking Tommy, but without knowing exactly how that sphere works, there's no way to be sure if we should rule the other rangers out," Trip said.

"Is it just me, or did anyone notice that the Admiral from the future's last name was Summers?" Camille brought up.

"Maybe she's a relative of yours," he said.

"Or maybe she's my daughter. You did say she was from the year 3031, I'm sure my daughter would be old enough to join Time Force by then," she pointed out.

"We only have to wait 30 years to find out," Trip joked.

_'Search complete,'_ the computer said, showing a much smaller list.

"Rocky DaSantos was only part of two ranger teams, it could be him," Camille said, going over the list.

"I could be Zack Taylor. History logs say he died in the year 2005 but his body was never recovered. Considering he was the original black ranger in Earth, it might be him," he said.

"This list is still too long, and without knowing how the sphere works we could be looking in the wrong place altogether. Now that we know what Alex was trying to hide, we should just delete this data, destroy the files and wait to find out who the black ranger is," Tommy suggested.

"He's right," she agreed.

"Computer, delete all files displayed on screen and all inquiries concerning former rangers," Trip said.

_'Authorization required,'_ the computer said.

"Authorization Trip Beta 6065 C," he said.

_'Files deleted,'_ it said.

"Computer, are backup files still on the network?" Camille asked.

_'Affirmative,'_ it said.

"Delete from the network as well, authorization Camille Omega 334," she said.

_'Files deleted,' _it said.

"I'll give rid of this folder," Tommy said as he stuffed it in his back pocket, walking out the room.

~

Alex walked into the examining room, only to find _him_ sitting there. "1300 hours, right on time Lucas," he said as he closed the door behind himself.

**TBC**…….


	35. Chapter XXXV: Discoveries

Katie went through the files in Alex' office as quickly as she could. She knew it was only a matter of time before he would make his way back, but she was also convinced that the answers to her questions could be found in his office.

She managed to pry open a drawer that had been locked, skimming through some of the information. Most of it was personnel files, some of it was transfer orders for officers to different departments, standard information.

Realizing she wouldn't find anything on paper, she turned to his computer, switching it on. _'Welcome back Alex, please enter password,'_ the computer said.

She paused, typing in the first thing that came to mind.

_'Incorrect code, please re-enter password_,_'_

She tried again.

_'Incorrect code, please re-enter password_,_'_

"Shit," she grunted out loud, trying to figure out the code. She glanced around the room, hoping to find some clue as to what the code could be. 

Katie stopped at a picture of Alex and Jen standing on a balcony together. Both of them were in their Time Force uniforms, and she quickly noticed that Jen was still wearing her engagement ring. It was enough to make her take a pause. _'I really thought those two were going to work out,'_ she sighed.

Then in occurred to her. "Jen," she said, typing it into the computer.

_'Password accepted,'_ the computer told her.

She quickly glanced over the files in the computer, cross referencing them with anything pertaining the black ranger… but there was nothing. Katie was about to give up when she noticed a small icon in the bottom right corner of the screen.

"That looks like…" she took a closer look. "a morpher," she sighed, clicking on the icon.

As soon as she did, schematics for the black morpher appeared on the screen. Although she didn't completely understand all of it, she knew someone who would.

"Katie to Trip," she whispered.

_'Trip here, what is it Katie?'_ a voice answered.

"I have the information you requested. Is it safe to share?" she inquired, making sure it was okay to tell him.

_'Standby, I'm switching our com-signal to a secure line,'_ there was a slight pause, then a beeping sound. _'What do you have for me Katie?'_

"I've accessed the schematics for the black morpher, a lot of high level stuff here. See if you can establish a link between the science station at Alex' computer, there's a lot of information here,"

_'Anything on the identity of the black ranger?'_ he asked.

"Not that I see, but I do see on his planning schedule that he has an appointment with _someone_ at 1300," 

_'Establishing link,'_ he paused. _'The download shouldn't take more than two minutes. When it's done, you have to clear out the command pathways so he doesn't realize we accessed his files,'_ he said.

"Understood,"

_'As soon as its done, get out of there,'_ he told her.

"You don't have to tell me twice," she sighed.

She watched as the information flashed across the screen during the download. Finally, the download was complete, and Katie wiped out the command pathways, then shut off the computer.

Before she could make her way to the office door, the door opened, and Alex walked into the room. Even with the cloak on, Katie was nervous as she quietly walked to the other side of the room.

Alex walked in, sitting down in his chair and began going through files. Only moments later, someone knocked on the door.

"Come in," he called out.

That's when _he_ walked into the room. He had a light complexion with long but curly black hair that hung just over his ears. He had on civilian clothes, just a pair of black jeans and a black button up shirt.

"How are you commander?" the man asked.

"Just fine, sorry to keep you waiting like that. I had something I had to take care of. Have a seat," Alex said.

Katie watched in silence as the man sat across from Alex.

"So, how are you feeling?" he asked.

"Just fine commander,"

"I take it your new quarters were to your liking,"

"Yeah, everything is fine. Thanks again,"

"No worries," he paused. "You said there hasn't been any side effects from the radiation coming from your morphers?" he asked.

"Not at all. I feel fine, considering my age,"

"Good. I just received word from Admiral Summers that because of random shifts in the time line, we're going to have to move forward with our plans sooner than expected," he said.

"I understand."

"It will become necessary to tell the rangers who you are, but the secret about the sphere has to be remain a secret. If anyone know what it was capable of, we'd have a much bigger problem on our hands," he explained.

"I can imagine,"

"Like I said, I still want you to meet with one of our doctors so they can run a few tests on you. I just need to be sure that everything is going according to plan. I want you to transport to medical lab six. It's rarely used, so no one will see you. I'll have Dr. Mathews meet you there for an exam," he told him.

"Understood,"

"And thank you again. The universe owes you a tremendous debt," he said as he stood up, extending his hand to him.

The two of them shook. "Its an honor sir," he said as he reached for his morpher, then disappeared into a stream of light.

Alex sat back down in his chair and let out a sigh. Then it happened…

_'Trip to Katie, come in,'_ a voice said.

Alex reached in his top drawer, pulling out a disrupter and aiming in the direction the voice came from. The beam connected with Katie, forcing her to de-cloak as she fell to the ground.

"Oh Jesus," he sighed as he realized who it was, and then reached for communicator. "Dr. Young, could you report to my office ASAP. I have an officer who needs to be escorted to deck eight," he said.

(*)

Trip and Camille looked over the schematics on the view screen, completely overcome by the level of technology.

"Look at that, it has it's own neurtotronic isolator subroutines, a modulation frequency pulse of over one hundred billion bits per second and a bio-chemical phaser emitter," he sighed eagerly.

"What the hell does any of that mean?" Jen asked him.

"It means that this morpher isn't just a piece of equipment, this thing links itself to the user. The cloaking device it uses doesn't just make you invisible, it phases the user out of our time continuum, moving them 1.5 seconds faster than the rest of us," Camille explained.

"Why is going into the future 1.5 seconds such a good thing?"

"Because it would be just enough far enough into the future where our scans wouldn't detect it, but allow them to move freely through our time without being seen," she said.

"It also gives them the ability to walk through solid matter. Its like they're there, but they're not there," Trip added.

"So where did this morpher come from?" she asked.

"We have to assume that Alex acquired it from the future along with the sphere. If admirals from the future are sending us technology to alter history, something major must be happening," Camille said.

"Did you ever get in touch with Katie?"

"No. I tried to contact her after the download, but she didn't answer," he said.

"Computer, locate Lt. Katie Taylor," Jen said.

_'Lt. Taylor is on deck 8, section 1,'_ the computer answered.

"Memory adaptation," Trip sighed.

"Alex must have caught her and sent her to memory adaptation to wipe her mind," she turned to Trip. "Can you find anything else we need in these files?" she asked.

"Only that Alex had an appointment at 1300 hours. The files don't say who it is, which is unusual in itself," he said.

"You think he's meeting with the black ranger?"

"Has to be,"

"Computer, locate Commander Alex Collins," she said.

_'Commander Collins is in medical lab six,'_ the computer told her.

"No one ever goes into lab six," Camille mentioned.

"Computer, access security cameras in lab six and display on view screen," she said.

The schematics blinked off the screen and were replaced by an image of Alex standing in the corner of a room. There was a doctor on hand, and a man was laying flat on his stomach on an examining table.

"Who is that?" Jen asked.

"I recognize Dr. Young," he brought up.

"Whoever that guy is, it has to be the black ranger," Camille said.

Jen paused. "Wait a second. When I was in Alex' office today, he told me that he had a meeting with someone at 1300 hours. When I peeked in, he was talking to Lucas," she said.

"Are you saying that Lucas is the black ranger?"

"It adds up: that's why we couldn't find a match in the computer files. We were looking for active officers, but Lucas has been ­_inactive_ for months now. It also explains why we couldn't find a match from the former rangers in the data base," she said.

"But we _did_ find a match, a lot of them," he mentioned.

"True, but more of them were former rangers who'd been exposed to several different morphers. If it were one of them, and if the black morpher is as powerful as you say it is, the radiation from something like that would kill them," Jen said.

"Oh my God. Lucas is the black ranger," Camille sighed.

"Why didn't he tell us?"

"He was probably under orders not to," Trip said.

"Well now that we know who the black ranger is, where he gets his powers from and what Alex was trying to hide from us, we should concentrate on whatever Admiral Summers has been preparing us for," Jen said.

"What do you think it could be?"

"I don't know, but whatever it is, it's got everyone in Time Force in serious panic mode. Logan got promoted to admiral, I got a promotion, personnel has been getting shuffled around for the last few days, ensigns have been getting promotions to full Lt. Status and Alex sent Tommy on some black opts mission that we're not suppose to know about. Not to mention the fact that he mind wipes anyone who comes too close to discovering what's going on. I'd say it's pretty big," Jen said.

Just then, Tommy walked into the room in his Time Force uniform, walking over to the rest of them. "Hey guys," he said.

"The doctors let you come back to work?" Camille asked him.

"Yep, a clean bill of health. They say I'm ready to get back to work now," he said.

"What about the headaches?" Jen asked.

"Gone,"

"Gone? How?" she asked.

"Because I remember everything now," he told them.

"You do?"

"All of it," Tommy insisted.

The three of them gathered around Tommy. "Well out with it man, tell us what happened," Camille snapped.

"It all started a few days ago when Alex called me into his office……"

**TBC**……


	36. Chapter XXXVI: Second chances

**Author's note:** This takes place during chapter 29, _"Changes"._

"Thanks for coming Tommy. I needed to talk to you," he said.

"What can I do for you sir?" he inquired.

Alex stood up, taking off his sunglasses and setting them on the desk, sitting down on the edge of the desk. "Lets drop the rank, shall we? Truth is, with your experience, you should be a commander by now and in charge of your own unit," he told him.

"Naw. I'm happy where I am with Jen and the others," he said.

Alex noticed the slight sparkle in Tommy's eye when he mentioned Jen's name, recalling that same spark in his eye not too long ago. "Yes, of course you are," he paused. "I read your report about what happened with the Turbo rangers and your brother. That was damn fine work you did," he told him.

"It couldn't have been _that_ great, it cost a ranger his life," he brought up.

"Sometimes things happen that are beyond our control. Its how you handle those types of situations that separate those who can lead, and those who only follow," he said.

"Sounds like the kind of speech you give before a promotion," he stood up. "Like I said, I'm happy where I am. I'm not really interested in a……" he was cut short.

"Just hear me out Tommy," he sat back down. "What I'm offering isn't a promotion, it's a special mission. Consider it a black bag operation," he said.

"What do you want me to do?"

"To you believe in self-fulfilling prophecies?" Alex asked him.

"What do you mean?"

"Didn't it seem strange to you that the history logs didn't give exact details about how Shin Getti was stopped in the 21st century? These types of events are carefully worded to avoid any confusion, to ensure that things don't become too complicated. Truth is, outside influence was necessary for the timeline to progress naturally. If you and the others hadn't traveled to that point in time, Operation: Lightspeed would have never gotten off the ground. Shin Getti would have taken over the world, and history would have been changed. That's why Time Force is important, especially the Slipstream division. You and your unit are the missing links in the timeline; ensure that things flow according to plan. The mission I'm offering you now is a chance to ensure that history once again flows smoothly," he told him.

"How?"

Alex walked behind his desk again, opening a drawer and pulling out a small white sphere, tossing it to Tommy. Tommy quickly caught it, getting a good look at it.

"What is this?" Tommy asked.

"It's a second chance," he sighed. "Come with me," he said as he headed out the office. Tommy stood up, following him out the room.

He followed him down the hall and around the corner, eventually coming to the hub of Temporal Investigations. "What are we doing here?" he asked.

"I'm sending you on a mission. What happens in the next few minutes is completely classifieds. No one must know what we're going here, it's imperative to maintain the continuity of the time stream. Not even your fellow rangers can know," he explained.

"I understand,"

Alex walked over to the controls and pushed a button, opening a door at the back of the room, revealing a time ship. "When you get inside, you'll see that the coordinates have already been set and the auto pilot is engaged. The parameters of your mission will be explained in the files you find in the ship, and after you read them, they must be destroyed. Follow out the instructions to the letter, then return here for de-briefing and memory adaptation," Alex instructed.

"Memory adaptation?"

"It's a standard procedure. When you return, memories of the mission will be erased from your memory to preserve the timeline," he said.

"Understood," he said as he nodded slightly, heading towards the time ship.

A small hatch opened, allowing Tommy inside. As soon as he was on board, the hatch closed behind him, and he took a seat in front of the control panel. Just as Alex mentioned, there was a vanilla folder sitting on the control panel.

_'Course set and locked. Do you wish to disembark?' _the computer asked him.

The voice startled him, breaking his concentration as he read over the files. "Oh, um, yes. I wish to disembark," he said.

_'Engaging engines,'_ the computer announced.

A time hole began to open in the sky. The ship lifted off the launch pad, leading from the vortex as it disappeared into it.

~

The time ship touched down near a small beach. _'Why do these ships always land on beaches?'_ he wondered to himself, bending the folder in half as he stuffed it into his back pocket as he stepped out the time ship.

During the trip, he had been able to read most of the files. Although they weren't specific, he was able to get a general idea of his mission parameters.

As he headed towards the city, he realized where he was. "This is Angel Grove," he said out loud, getting a good look at the place, though he wasn't sure _when_ he was. The park was just as he remembered it, and after walking a little longer, he found himself at the Youth Center. He headed in, hoping Ernie would still be there. _'I could sure go for one of those milk shakes,'_ he thought.

He stepped up to the counter, but instead of Ernie, it was Lt. Stone who walked over to him. "What can I get you son?"

He paused. "Where is Ernie?" he asked.

"Ernie went to South America, until he gets back he left me in charge here. Hey, wait a sec, I know you. You're Tommy, aren't you?" he replied.

"Yeah."

"I hardly recognized you. It must be the new haircut," he mentioned.

Tommy recalled that his ponytail, at one point in his life, was one of his trademarks, but he'd gotten rid of it a long time ago. "Must be," he sighed.

"Let me guess, a milk shake right?"

"How'd you know?"

"Ernie told me all about you guys. He said you always came in here and ordered the same thing, but I don't see much of you or your friends anymore," Lt. Stone said.

"We've been busy, that's all,"

"I'll be right back with your shake," he said, walking away.

_'If Ernie is already gone, that means this is after we gave our powers to TJ and the others. It has to be 1998,'_ he thought to himself. Moments later, Lt. Stone came back with a milk shake in hand, sitting it down next to Tommy.

"Here you go. And on yeah, sorry to hear about your friend," he said.

"What? What friend?"

"I bumped into Tanya a few days ago, she came in for a smoothie. I'm tellin' ya, I've never seen a woman drink four smoothies like that. She just…"

"What about my friend?" he interrupted.

"She said that your friend Adam was in the hospital, something about radiation poisoning or something. I hope he pulls through," he sighed.

"Thanks," he stood up. "Thanks for the shake, I have to get going," he picked up his shake and walked away.

He stepped out the Youth Center, trying to organize his thoughts. He recalled reading over the history logs when he originally found himself in the 31st century, there was mention of Adam dying of radiation poisoning, but there was more to it. At the time, the doctors weren't sure what to call his condition. Without a second though, he raced down to the street, making his way towards the hospital.

~

Tommy arrived at the hospital, and as soon as he stepped through the door, Carlos greeted him. "I contacted Katherine to tell her what was happening with Adam, but she said you were out of town on your honeymoon," he mentioned.

Tommy cracked a smile, remembering his honeymoon with Kimberly. He also remembered how hurt he was to return home, only to discover Adam was gone. "Some things are more important. What happened to him?" he asked.

Carlos pulled him aside. "A few days ago, Adam and I were training in the park when we were attacked by a monster. I didn't have my morpher, and the monster overpowered us. Adam used his old morpher without a power coin to morph into the black ranger, but it was unstable," he told him.

"Morphing with a power coin could kill him," he sighed.

"It is killing him. The doctors say its radiation poisoning, and they're trying to treat him, but it's having no effect. They're saying he may not make it through the night," Carlos said.

"Where is he?"

"Come on, I'll take you to him,"

The two of them walked down a hallway, stopping at the last room on the right. Adam was laying in bed with machines connected to him, all of them monitoring his condition.

"I hate to see him like this," Tommy sighed.

"I'll give you a few moments alone," he said, walking out the room.

Tommy headed over to the bed, reaching down and holding his hand slightly. He wanted to say something like "hang in there" or "things will be better", but he knew they wouldn't. He'd already read the files; Adam was going to die.

"Tommy?" Adam mumbled, opening his eyes slowly.

"Yeah man, its me,"

"You cut your hair," he noticed.

"Yeah, I did,"

"Good, that ponytail made you look like a sissy," he said, cracking a smile.

"How you holding up?"

"The doctors don't know what else to do with me. I even had Carlos contact Dimitri to see if it was something she could do for me, they came up with nothing. I'm running out of time," he told him.

_'Time,'_ Tommy sighed inwardly. "There's a lot going on Adam, more than you know. I'm going to make you an offer, but its up to on whether you accept it or not," Tommy said.

"I'm listening,"

Tommy hurried over to the door, closing it to prevent anyone from listening in on their conversation. "I'm from what you could call the future, the year 3000," he said.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"My exposure to so many different types of energy did something to my DNA, and I was dying. A good friend on mine, Wes, worked for a lab that put me into suspended animation until a cure could be found for my condition. I woke up in the year 3000," he explained.

"You're out your mind Tommy, you know that?" Adam laughed.

Tommy held up his wrist, showing Adam his morpher. "This is a Chrono morpher, it's from the future. I'm part of a new team of rangers, and our job to help people from other worlds. Sometimes we end up in the past too, but that's another story," he said.

"Okay, lets say for the sake of argument that I'm buying any of this, what kind of offer do you have for me?" he asked.

Tommy pulled a small white sphere out of pocket. "My commanding officer gave this to me. I'm not sure how it works, but it's suppose to have healing effects. I've been reading about it, and the files say that it can even restore a life force a full three minutes after death," he told him.

"Tommy, are you on drugs?" Adam asked.

"Listen to me Adam; I know how all of this sounds, I didn't believe it at first either, but in all the time I've known you, I've never lied to you. This may be your only chance," he said.

"So what do you want me to do?"

"I'll wait until the doctors declare you clinically dead, then I'll give you the sphere. It should heal you, but once it does, you can never come back to Angel Grove,"

"Why not?"

"Because everyone will believe you died. The time line has to be preserved, so you'll have to come with me," he said.

"To the future?"

"Yeah," he sighed.

"Either all of this is a bad episode of the Twilight Zone, or your story is just crazy enough to be true," he groaned.

"Do we have a deal?" he asked.

"Deal," Adam said.

Tommy nodded slightly. "I'll be right back," he headed into the hallway, where Carlos was leaning up against the wall. "I'm going to need you to do me a favor," he sighed.

"What is it?"

"Adam isn't going to make it much longer, but if they do an autopsy on him, they may find out more than they need to know. When he does…" he paused. "… pass away, I'm going to take his body and get it out of here. You and the rangers should show up and say something about taking him to his family. They won't dispute the word of a power ranger," he told him.

"I understand, but where are you taking him?"

"Someplace safe," Tommy assured him.

(*)

The door to Adam's hospital room opened, there _she_ stepped in. With a look of concern on her face and flowers in her hand, she walked over to the bed.

"Hi sweetie," she sighed.

He opened his eyes slowly. "Oh, hey Tanya," he mumbled.

She set the flowers down on the night stand next to the bed, then reached for his hand. "I came as soon as I could. How are you feeling? What are the doctors saying?" she asked.

"Nothing different. They don't know what it is, so they can't treat it," he said.

"You should just tell them the truth, tell them what happened to you,"

"Even if I did, it wouldn't change anything. The morphers are beyond anything they could come up with, and there would be no way for them to treat me," he sighed.

"I don't want you to die," she cried, trying to hold back the tears in her eyes.

"I'll be fine, I promise,"

"There's something I have to tell you, something I've wanted to say to you for a long time," she wiped the tears away from her eyes. "I love you Adam Park, I've always loved you. I never thought you would be interested in me, so I kept my feelings to myself, but before you die, I want you to know how much you meant to me," she cried.

"You should have told me,"

"I didn't know how. I didn't want you to reject me," she mentioned.

"I wouldn't have,"

Then, it happened. The machine next to Adam's bed began to buzz. The monitor flickered as his condition changed. "Oh my God, Adam," she screamed. "I'll get the doctors," she said as she tried to run for the door, but he held onto her hand.

"No," he moaned.

"Let me go Adam, you're dying," she screamed.

"I love you too Tanya. I always have," he sighed.

Before she could respond, the monitor flat lined… and he was gone. Tanya fell to her knees as tears rolled down her face. At that moment, Tommy walked into the room.

"Is he…" he didn't even have to finish his sentence.

"He wouldn't let me go for help," she cried, running into Tommy's arms.

"Its okay now Tanya, its over," he sighed.

"It isn't fair," she cried.

Tommy walked over to Adam, pulling the sphere out his pocket again. "Just go Tanya, I can take it from here," he said.

She wiped her eyes. "What are you doing?"

"I'm taking his body. I can't let the hospital to an autopsy on him, they would find out who he was," he said, putting the sphere in Adam's hand, closing it tightly.

"What is that?"

The sphere began to glow, and as the light filled the entire room, the machine stopped beeping. Soon, the light died down, and Adam quickly sat up in the bed, his eyes wide open.

"Oh my God," Tanya sighed, and then fainted.

"We've got to get out of here," Tommy said.

Adam was still disorientated, but managed to nod slightly as he slid off the bed, getting back to his feet. Tommy reached for his morpher, and the two of them disappeared in a stream of light.

~

They arrived at the time ship, but Adam collapsed to the ground. The hatch on the time ship opened, and Tommy put Adam over his shoulder and carried him inside as the hatch closed.

He checked Adam. _'He has a pulse, he should be fine,'_ he thought to himself as he carefully placed him inside a long, black bag. In the files, he was instructed that Adam should be placed in the bag to protect him from temporal displacement, which may have made his condition worse, but to Tommy, it looked like a regular body bag.

_'Course set and locked. Do you wish to disembark?'_ the computer asked.

"Yes, get us out of here," he said.

_'Engaging engines,'_ the computer said.

Soon, the time ship lifted off, disappearing into the vortex.

~

The time ship came through the portal, landing safely in the docking area. As soon as Tommy stepped off the time ship with the black bag in his eyes, Alex was there to greet him.

"Excellent work Tommy," he praised.

"Sorry it took longer than expected, there were……complications," Tommy told him.

"The time ship was set to bring you back to the exact moment you left Tommy. From my standpoint, you were only gone for a few seconds," he explained. "I'll take this, you get down to memory adaptation," he ordered, taking the black bag from Tommy as he walked out the room.

_'If I go through memory adaptation, I'll forget everything that happened here today,'_ he reminded himself as he stepped into the hallway. At first he considered _not_ going through the procedure at all, but was positive that once Alex found out he hadn't, they'd re-issue the order. _'Sooner or later, they'll mind wipe me anyway,'_ he thought. He headed down and into the locker room area, stopping in front of his locker, then pulled the vanilla folder out his back pocket.

"It's the only way I'll be able to remember," he mumbled, putting the folder in his locker and shutting it, then walked away. 

(*) **later** (*)

The doors to the science lab opened as Tommy walked in. "Whoa, what happened in here?" he asked as soon as he noticed a truck in the middle of the lab.

"It's a long story," Jen sighed.

"So how did your meeting with Alex go?" Katie asked, walking over to him.

He paused. His head began to throb, but he quickly shook it off. "Um, I didn't even have the meeting. He was called away and we had to reschedule for another day," he told them.

"That's strange, you were gone for a while," she mentioned.

"Its no big deal," he glanced around the room. "Where are Trip and Camille?" he asked.

"They're taking a personal day, they deserve it. Besides, when they get back, they'll have their hands full with the silver morpher," Katie said.

"Silver? How did you……"

"I told you, it's a long story," Jen told him.


	37. Chapter XXXVII: The Invasion

"… and that's the whole story," Tommy explained to them.

The three of them stood in a semi circle in front of Tommy as he leaned up against one of the control panels, going over the final details. He explained how he put the folder in his locker to ensure that he'd be able to remember what happened, and that he wasn't sure what Alex had done with Adam's body after he brought it back from the past.

"But it doesn't make sense. Adam had been a ranger on more than one occasion. To give him a morpher with that much power would kill him," Trip pointed out.

"Which is probably why Alex gave the black morpher to Lucas," Jen brought up.

"I see the four of you finally figured it out," they heard a voice say.

They turned around only to see Alex standing behind them wearing his deeply tinted sunglasses and his arms folded.

"How long have you there?" Camille asked.

"Long enough to hear that Tommy disobeyed a direct order from a superior officer by keeping information was he ordered to destroy, long enough to see that Trip was able to upload classified information from my personal data base, and long enough to figure out that you sent Katie to break into my office and steal top secret information from my desk. All of you can kiss your careers in Time Force goodbye," he told them.

Jen took a step forward. "You self-righteous son of a…" she snapped as she walked over to him, only to have Trip and Tommy grab her, holding her back.

"Something you want to say to me _captain_?" he asked, almost mocking her.

"Yes sir there is…"

"Well it's a shame I'm not interested in hearing it. Tommy, Trip, the two of you take Jen to deck eight for memory adaptation at once. From there, you are to return here for…" he was short short.

"No," Trip said.

"What did you say?"

"He said no," Camille repeated, taking a step forward.

"By refusing a direct order from a superior officer, you risk a general court martial and termination from your position. Now do your jobs and take her to memory adaptation before I have all of you relieved of your duties," he snapped.

Trip and Tommy let Jen go, but she didn't make a move. Camille walked over to Jen, standing behind her next to Trip and Tommy. Jen glanced over her shoulder, then back at Alex. "Looks like no one here gives a damn about your idol threats anymore _Alexander_," she reached over, taking the glasses off his face, putting them on herself. "I always wondered why you hid behind these damn glasses. What did you see when you wore them? Maybe it was a way to hide your own insecurities, or maybe they made you feel superior to everyone else. Not that it matters anymore, your time is up," Jen snapped.

"This is mutiny," he protested.

"Why yes, it is. Tommy, Trip, if you would be so kind as to escort Alex to deck eight for memory adaptation," he said.

"Yes ma'am," they said, grabbing Alex and putting his arms behind his back.

"You don't think you'll get away with this, do you? No one on deck eight will carry out your orders," he pointed out.

"You're probably right, that's why I'm sending Camille with you," she turned to Camille. "You do know how to operate the memory adaptation unit, don't you?"

"No, but I'm sure I can figure it out," she said.

"Good. You all have your orders, dismissed," Jen said with a grin on her face as they dragged Alex out the room.

~~

The three of them pulled Alex into the room, where Ensign Harris greeted them. 

"What's going on here?" he asked.

"Get security up here now ensign!" Alex screamed.

It was Camille who walked over to Ensign Harris, putting her arm around him. "You can either walk away while we do what we have do to, or you can stuffed in the machine too. Its up to you," she told him.

Ensign Harris looked at Alex, who for the first time he could recall, had a desperate look on his face, then back at Camille, who hadn't changed her expression at all. She still seemed more than serious about her threat.

"See ya," he said, walking out the room.

Camille walked over to the control panel, going over some of the readings. "Looks like they were prepping Katie for memory adaptation, but haven't given her the procedure yet," she said.

"You're not going to get away with this," Alex screamed.

Camille walked over to him, swinging a right hand and hitting Alex, knocking him out cold. "Geez I've been waiting to do that for a long time," she sighed.

"So what do we do now?" Tommy asked as Alex hit the ground lifeless.

She pointed to a pod-like module up against the wall. The door itself was glass; there was a helmet of some sort inside. "We have to get him in there and put the head piece on him. His synaptic pathways will be blocked, and he will have no memory of any of this ever happening," she explained to them.

"But what if Alex has had the procedure within the last few months and we don't know about it? Giving it to him again could kill him," Trip pointed out.

"Sounds like an acceptable risk to me," Tommy said, mocking Alex.

The two of them stuff Alex into the module, but before they could close the door, there was an explosion behind them. They turned around as a group of creatures stormed into the room, attacking them. The creatures themselves appeared humanoid, but their heads were at least twice as big as the average human, and their skin seemed pale, almost colorless. 

One of them gave Camille a backhand, sending her against the wall. Trip and Tommy rushed at one of them with a double sabat kick, which was enough to make the creature take a step back, but two more grabbed them, throwing them into the module. The glass broke on impact, and Alex freed himself, going after the creatures. He hit a leg sweep on one of them, then a back flip, kicking another creature in the face. As it stumbled back, a third creature grabbed him, putting his arms behind his back. The remaining two made their way towards him, but Alex kicked up, wrapping his legs around one of their necks and spun around, forcing the creatures holding him to let go, and snapping the other creature's neck. As it fell to the ground, another group of creatures stormed into the room. 

Alex, Tommy, Trip and Camille found themselves back to back with each other, unsure of what to do next.

"Any bright ideas?" Alex asked.

"I vote for running," Camille suggested.

"I vote for kicking their asses!" they heard a voice say.

The turned around as the yellow ranger stormed into the room with a phaser cannon in hand, firing a shot at one of the creatures, sending it through the wall. Another one made a move, but the yellow ranger hit a spin kick, taking it down, then blasted it in the face at point blank range, taking it's head off.

"Come on," she motioned, and the others didn't question, following her through the hole in the room and into the next room.

"What the hell are those things?" Trip asked.

"I'm not sure, but when Alex brought me down here for memory adaptation, they attacked me in the prep room. I managed to escape, but the entire deck is swarming with those things," Katie explained.

"Where did they come from?"

"I didn't claim to have all the answers," she said.

"We have to evacuate the building, save the other officers," Alex mentioned.

"Communications on this deck have been shut off, not even the morphers will allow us to send a signal to anyone. If the rest of the building don't know what's going on by now, we have no way to warn them," she said.

"So we're trapped here," Camille sighed.

"It's begun," Alex sighed.

"What?"

"This is what the Admiral was warning me about. She said that Chryo-Tech would experiment with their own slipstream device, but it would fall into evil hands. She warned me that they would use the slipstream to open portals to every point in time, unleashing the most unspeakable creatures in the universe into our reality," he explained.

"So all these creatures are from another reality?" Tommy asked.

"It's only going to get worse from here," he sighed.

"So that's why the admiral sent you the black morpher, right? To stop this invasion from happening and altering the time line," Camille said.

Alex nodded. "The black morpher was designed to be more powerful than anything our scientists could have ever created. She hoped that with the morpher and with a 6th ranger, we would be able to change the past and give them a new future," he explained.

Just then, the creatures stormed into the room again, coming towards them. Tommy glanced at the others, nodding slightly.

"Lets do it guys," he said.

_"TIME FOR, TIME FORCE,"_ they called out in unison as their clothes were replaced by their ranger uniforms.

Each of them called for a Chrono saber and charged it. The red and blue ranger double-teamed one of the creatures, slicing its legs off with their sabers. As it hit the ground, another creature lunged at them, but Alex picked up the phaser cannon and fired, blasting a hole in its chest. One of the creatures picked up the yellow ranger, throwing her into Alex, knocking both of them over. 

"It's not enough, there are too many of them," the red ranger screamed.

Just then, it was the black ranger who materialized from out of nowhere. He extended his arms as his golden blades extended from his forearms, stabbing two of them creatures in the throat. As they fell to the ground, he gave another a tornado spin kick, taking it down. Three more charged at him, but he reached for his disrupters, shooting them down as well. The last remaining creature jumped on his back, but the black ranger disappeared, and the creature fell to the ground. Before it was able to regain its footing, the black ranger re-materialized, stabbing it in the back of the head. It let out a sickening howl as blood gushed out the open wound.

With all the creatures down, the golden blades retracted back into his forearms. "Is everyone okay?" he asked, helping the blue ranger back to her feet.

"Yeah, thanks a lot Lucas," Tommy said, walking over to him.

"Lucas? Come on Tommy, give me _some_ credit, I look way better in this uniform than he did," the black ranger said as he removed his helmet.

It was Katie who got a good look at him first. "Oh my God, it's really you," she sighed as she stared with amazement.


	38. Chapter XXXVIII: The Invasion pt 2

"Oh my God, it's really you," Katie sighed as she stared with amazement.

"Adam? But how…" Tommy question was cut short as Alex walked over to them.

"Originally, the black morpher was meant for you, which is why you were taken out of your cryogenic suspension when you were. Because of circumstances beyond our control, and the time lines shifting during the incident with Ransorg, you were given the red Chrono morpher. You see, to control the black morpher, the human body must be conditioned to withstand much more radiation than the average person," Alex told him.

"So instead of stopping him from being able to accept the black morpher, his condition allowed him to control the powers," Camille added.

Alex nodded.

"After Tommy was given the red Chrono morpher, we began to train Lucas to accept the black morpher, but his body rejected the power and drained him of his life energy. Once we realized that we would never be able to recruit a suitable replacement within Time Force, we looked for other ways to find someone who would be able to physically accept the power," he mentioned.

"Besides, black was always my color," Adam brought up.

"Well I'm glad we were able to clear all that up, but what were those things that attacked us?" Trip inquired, injecting himself into the conversation.

"They were a race of beings known as the Vorhsoth, they're a warrior race. The bad news is, that's not the worst of it. Every baddie in the universe has been assembled by a man named Dez and are under his control. With control of his own slipstream portal, he's gone to different points in time and assembled some of the worst villains in our universe's history," Alex explained.

"But there is no honor amongst thieves. Sooner or later they'll turn on each other," Katie said.

Alex shook his head. "Dez has found a way to control all of them. You'll notice that the Vorhsoth had collars around their neck, similar to the ones from prison planet. If someone opposes him, the collar destroys them instantly," he said.

"So why did this Dez guy let Vorhsoth loose in here?" Camille asked.

"He's after something, but I don't know what,"

"Can you contact Admiral Summers? Maybe she can tell us something," Trip suggested.

He shook his head again. "The moment you discovered the plan, the time line was changed. Admiral Summers, at least the one I'd been in contact with, doesn't exist anymore. If we were to contact the future, assuming that there's anything left, they wouldn't be able to help," he said.

"So we're just stuck on deck 8 forever?"

"We have to find a way off this deck, but the power has been shut off and theres seems to be a dampening field in place. Communication is impossible," Alex said.

"I believe that's where I come in," Adam put his helmet back on. "I'll find a way to restore power to this deck and let the others know what's going on," he told them.

"But how?"

Without a word, Alex hit a switch on his morpher, making him almost transparent, and he simply disappeared into the floor. 

"Of course, the bio-chemical phase emitter," Camille squealed.

"The what?"

"The phase emitter accelerates his molecular structure, sending him exactly 1.5 seconds into the future. Because his molecular structure is moving 1.5 seconds faster than the rest of us, it allows him to pass through solid matter and re-materialize at will," she explained.

"So Adam can walk through walls?" Katie asked.

"Yeah,"

"Why didn't you just say that?"

~

Adam engaged his cloak as he wandered down the halls, still unsure on where he was. Finally, when he came to the end of the hallway, he saw a sign on the wall. "Deck seven, duh," he mumbled to himself.

At the end of the hallway was a metal grate, which he quickly snatched off the wall and threw to the ground. There were wires and circuits, but he had no idea what any of them did. "I'm going to need some help," he sighed.

~

Jen found herself surrounded by lifeless bodies in the medical lab. They were creatures of some sort, but nothing she'd ever seen before. While she waited to hear from Tommy and the others, vortex' began to open throughout the lab, and the creatures came after her. She was able to fight them off, but was sure that at any moment, more vortex' would open. _'And only Lord knows what's going to come out of them this time,'_ she thought to herself.

Just then, in the distance, she heard a sound. She quickly called for her chrono saber and headed over to the main door. The doors opened very slowly, and as soon as something came through, she held her blade up to it.

"Stop right there," she screamed.

"Relax Jen, it's me. Nadira," she said, holding her arms up.

Jen took a breath as she realized it was Nadira, pulling her blade back. "Sorry about that, it's been a stressful day," she sighed.

"I know. On my way here some dog looking thing attacked me. I thought it was going to kill me," she said, walking into the lab and getting a good look around. "What happened in here?"

"You weren't the only one who was attacked. I haven't been able to contact the others," she brought up.

"Each deck has been sealed off for some reason, and there's no communications from deck to deck. The elevators are down, the stairwells have been sealed off, and there's no power anywhere in the building," she said.

"We have to assume that these attacks are happening on every desk," she paused. "Nadira, how familiar are you with the service hatches?" she asked.

"Its only my second day," she squealed.

"Oh yeah. There are crawl ways that connect each deck. Most times they're used for repairing sub-systems to the main computer network. Not only will those take us from deck to deck, we should be able to re-route power from the main computer network and restore power to the secondary systems," she explained.

"So what do you want me to do?"

Jen walked to the far corner of the room and pushed a table aside, revealing a small hatch on the floor. "Grab yourself a phaser cannon and guard this hatch with your life," she opened it. "I'll be back for you as soon as I can,"

"But I don't know how to work a phaser cannon,"

"Just aim at the bad guys and pull the trigger," Jen told her, then crawled into the hatch and closed it behind herself.

(*)

Lucas and Admiral Logan were back to back in the medical bay, fighting off a group of soldiers. Lucas bent over, and the admiral flipped over him, kicking one of the soldiers in the face, knocking him over. Another one swung a blade at him, but Lucas caught the blade between his hands, snatching it away from him. Before the soldier had a chance to respond, Lucas swung the blade and sliced it's head off. As the head fell to the floor, Admiral Logan hit a spin kick into the lifeless body, sending it crashing into the remaining soldiers.

"What the hell are these things?" Lucas asked.

"If I know my history, they're Quantrons," he told him.

"But how is that possible?"

"I don't know," he walked over to the main computer panel. "This is Admiral Logan to Jen, come in," he said.

There was no response.

"Admiral Logan to Commander Collins, do you read me?" he tried.

Still, no response.

"Are they all…" he was cut short.

"I doubt it. I think there is some kinda of dampening field in place and we can't contact anyone. We have to assume the others are alive somewhere and trying to make contact with us," he said.

Just then, the black ranger seemed to materialize out the wall. At first glance, he was transparent, but after he reached for his morpher, the transparency faded. "Admiral," he said, saluting.

"At least Lt.," he said. "Report,"

"Commander Collins and several of the rangers are trapped on deck 8. I was able to determine that main power has been cut, and secondary power is off line," he told him.

"Are there any other surprises I should know about?"

"So far we've been attacked by a race called the Vorhsoth, but we were able to hold them off. Commander Collins believes that every known creature in the universe has been assembled and are trying to gain control of the building," he said.

"They've done a pretty good job already," Lucas added.

"If we don't get the secondary power on line soon, the Chryno-containment modules will fail and every mutant we ever captured will be set free," Admiral Logan mentioned.

"If I could get to deck four, I could initiate an auto reset to the secondary systems from the main computer," he said.

"But deck four is three decks up. There's no way you could make it," the admiral mentioned.

"But I can. Just tell me how to do it, and I'll take care of it," Adam said.

"Once you get to deck four, take the main hall all the way to the end and make a right. The first room on your left should be the main computer room. You'll need to activate auxiliary power to the computer, and then reinitialize the mainframe. Once you do that, activate the secondary systems," Lucas explained to him.

"He's going to need an external power source to get auxiliary power on line," the admiral pointed out.

"I'll come up with something," Adam said as he pushed on a button on his morpher. Suddenly, he was transparent again.

Lucas walked over to him, putting his arm through Adam's chest, then pulled it out; amazed that neither of them felt a thing. "I've got to get one of those," Lucas sighed.

"Once you get secondary power back on line, we should be able to communicate with each other," the Admiral said.

"Wish me luck," Adam said as he walked through the wall, disappearing.

(*)

Dez stood in containment room four, simply admiring the design. "You've got to admit, humans have come a long way since my day. Back then, they never would have been able to contain so many beings in such a small place. I'm tellin' ya, there's no tellin' what they'll think of next," he said, turning to the tall figure behind him. "Ecliptor, are the containers in place?" he asked.

"Yes sire. Awaiting your orders," he said in a cold, ruthless voice.

"Transport the mutants to the ship, then lets get out of here. I'd forgotten what it was like to be around humans again, my skin is starting to crawl," Dez groaned.

Ecliptor activated a transporter beam, and the entire containment module disappeared in a stream of light.

"Transport complete sire, all the modules are on board," he said.

"Excellent work. Its good to finally have some decent help after so long," he told him.

"Thank you sir,"

Just then, the door to the containment room opened and Ransik walked in. "Hold it right…" he paused as he got a good look at them. There was a human, or at least something that looked human, but the other one he recognized right away. "Ecliptor, but how…"

Instead of answering, Ecliptor charged at him with his sword, swinging at him. Ransik sidestepped him, hitting him with a forearm to the back, then a reverse sweep that knocked Ecliptor to his knees. Ransik went for a kick to the face, but Ecliptor caught his foot, tripping him. As Ransik fell to the ground, Ecliptor cocked back with his sword, stabbing Ransik in the chest.

At that moment, the black ranger materialized through the wall, getting a look at what happened. "Ecliptor?" he mumbled in disbelief as his transparency faded.

"That voice, I recognize it," Dez mentioned.

Ignoring them altogether, the black ranger tended to Ransik, who was bleeding heavily. "Just relax, you'll be okay," he told him.

"Its too late for me ranger, just stop them," he sighed just as his eyes glazed over.

The black ranger stood up as the golden blades extended from his forearms. "Alright you over grown Rubix cube, lets dance," he snapped.

He charged it after Ecliptor with a series of kicks, knocking him up against the wall. He cocked back, aiming one of his blades at Ecliptor's throat, but Ecliptor moved aside, sending the blade through the wall. Ecliptor responded with a kick, sending the black ranger across the room. Ecliptor pulled his sword out of the lifeless Ransik, and then threw it at the black ranger. 

The black ranger disappeared, confusing Ecliptor. "What in the…" before he could finish his sentence, the black ranger reappeared behind him, stabbing both blades through his back. The tips of the blades came out his chest, and as he pulled them out, Ecliptor fell to the ground.

With Ecliptor down, the ranger turned his sights on Dez. "Its your turn," he groaned.

"I knew I recognized that voice. Is that you in there Adam?" Dez asked him.

Adam paused. "Who are you?"

"Lets just say I'm an old friend. You're an awful long way from home, aren't you Adam? Tell me, is that pretty little girlfriend of yours here too? What was her name?" he paused. "Ah yes, Tanya,"

"Leave Tanya out of this!" Adam snapped.

"First Tommy, you now. They'll let anyone into this century, won't they?" he asked with a giggle.

Adam rushed at him, but Dez disappeared into a silver stream of light.

(*)

Trip managed to pull one of the metal plates off the wall near the main door, trying to reconfigure it to get the door open, but he wasn't having much luck.

"Without any power, I could reroute these wires all day and it wouldn't make a difference," he sighed.

"Well, we'll just have to get you some power," Camille said, taking off her morpher and handing it to him.

Trip quickly opened a panel on her morpher, snatching out a wire, and then connected the wires to the plate in the wall. The lights flickered for a moment, then seconds later, the door opened.

"Good work Trip," Alex said.

"Now we should make our way to the science lab. I'm sure Adam and Jen are working together by now to restore power to the building," Tommy mentioned.

As soon as they stepped out into the hallway, there were attacked by a group of Ghouls. Trip stormed in, spearing one of them and knocking them into the hallway. Two more grabbed him, but he did a back flip, flipping both of them over in the process.

"Time to go to work guys," Katie said as she rushed into the hallway, taking down three of the Ghouls with a cyclone kick, sending them through the wall.

One of the Ghouls swung at Alex, but Alex grabbed his arm, flipping it over his shoulder and down to the ground. Another one grabbed him, but Alex ducked, and Camille used her disrupter to blast it in the face, taking it down.

Tommy managed to finish off the last Ghoul just before the rest of them disappeared.

"What the hell are Ghouls doing here?" Trip asked.

"Dez is really going all out, isn't he?" Katie replied.

_'This is Adam to Tommy. Respond,'_ they heard a voice say.

Tommy reached for his morpher. "I hear you Adam."

_'I got secondary power back on line and disrupted the dampening field. I found Jen and Nadira too, but we've got a serious medical condition here,'_ he said.

"Who is it? What's wrong?"

_'Its Ransik. He's lost a lot of blood, I don't think he's going to make it much longer,'_ he said.

"I'll find a doctor and meet you in the containment room," Alex said, rushing down the hallway.

_'That's not the half of it guys. Dez and Ecliptor managed to steal all the containment modules,'_ he told them.

"Did you say Ecliptor?" Katie asked.

_'Yeah, but I don't think he'll be much of a problem anymore,'_ he said.

"All of them?" Camille asked.

"With that many mutants under his control, we won't be able to stop him," Katie sighed.

"Adam, round up all available personnel and meet us in the science lab. We need to know how many officers are down and how many are able to fight. We'll meet you there in ten minutes," Tommy instructed.

_'Understood. Adam out,'_ he said.

"Alright guys, go deck by deck if you have to, but find out if anyone else needs medical attention," he ordered.

"What are you going to do?" Trip asked.

"I'm going to have a talk with the counsel. Something tells me they know more than they're letting on," Tommy said, walking away.


	39. Chapter XXXIX: The Invasion pt 3

Tommy walked into the counsel's chambers, only to discover all three of them motionless on the floor and covered in blood. He quickly rushed over to them, helping one of them up.

"What happened here?" he asked.

"It was… Darkonda…"

"Darkonda is here too?"

"Ranger, you must defeat Dez before he is able to drain the…" his sentence trailed off as his injuries got the best of him.

"Before he does what?" he asked, but it was too late. He was gone.

~

Jen and Camille did their best to organize everyone into the science lab. Glancing around the room, Jen estimated maybe a dozen people, give or take a few. _'If this is all that's left of Time Force, we're going to have our hands full,'_ she thought to herself. Her thoughts quickly shifted to Alex, who stood off in the corner with his arms folded.

"I'll be right back," she sighed as she put her hand on Camille's shoulder. Camille nodded, and Jen headed for Alex.

"Did you come over here to hit me again?" he asked, neglecting to even look in her direction.

"I never hit you,"

"No, but Camille did. She may look small but she has a hell of a right hand," he sighed.

"I just wanted to say that…"

"Save it captain, if I were you I would have done the same thing. The other rangers are loyal to you, and to each other, and sometimes that's more important that rank," he told her.

"Thanks Alex," she sighed.

"But the next time you take my glasses from me, you're fired," he said, cracking a slight smile.

Without another word, the two of them headed over to the conference table, joining the others. "By now, more of you know me. I'm Admiral Logan. Since I am the highest-ranking officer here, I'm assuming command. From what we know, there is a man called Dez who has managed to get his hands on a slipstream portal and has been assembling every villain in the known universe, past and present. He also stole every containment unit in the building, taking with him every mutant we've ever captured here," he told them.

"This is a very serious time for Time Force. If Dez sends those mutants back here, we won't be able to stop them all. Even if we did, we'd have nothing to contain them in. With that in mind, we need volunteers," Camille said.

"Volunteers? For what?" someone asked.

"Over the past few weeks Camille and I have been able to develop a gold morpher and a silver morpher. In addition to that, we have a white morpher as well. Whether or not Dez sends the mutants or not, _something_ will be coming, and we need to have all the rangers we can get. I won't lie to you, this will be dangerous, and all of us may not survive, but our chances of coming out of this in one piece are a lot better with a few extra rangers," Trip explained.

"I'll do it," someone said, taking a step forward.

The first thing Jen noticed was that he had an average build, maybe a few inches shy of a full six feet tall with short blonde hair. _'He's kinda cute too,'_ she thought.

"What is your rank and position?" Jen asked him.

"I'm Ensign James Emery, sir," he said, standing at attention and saluting her.

"How does Lt. James Emery: silver Time Force ranger sound?" she asked.

"Very good sir. Thank you sir," he said.

Camille walked over to them, handing him the silver Chrono moprher. James quickly put it on his wrist, admiring it for a moment.

"But if you call me sir again, I'll devote you to the janitorial staff," Jen told him.

"Yes si… I mean, ma'am," he said.

"Just call me Jen."

"Anyone else?" the admiral asked, glancing around the room.

"Count me in," Lucas said, taking a step forward.

Trip grabbed the gold Chrono morpher and walked towards him, but the admiral stopped him. "I'm sorry Lucas, but you have to get your body time to readjust itself. The black morpher tapped into your life energy, and I'm afraid you won't be able to sustain any ranger powers you will heal fully," the admiral explained.

"I see," he sighed.

"What about me? I could do it," Nadira said eagerly.

"Are you sure that's what you want to do Nadira? You said it yourself, this is only your second day," Jen mentioned.

"This may be my second day in Time Force, but I have years of experience being around rangers. Remember, me and daddy tried to take over the world a few times," she brought up.

Jen nodded, and Trip walked over to her, handing her the gold morpher. She put it on, getting a good look at it.

"Congratulations," Trip said.

"I don't suppose you wanna trade with me, do you Jen? Yours is pink, and it would match my hair if we…" she was cut short.

"No," Jen said sharply.

"The white Chrono morpher isn't ready to be used yet, there are a few more adjustments we have to do," Camille said.

"How long?" the admiral asked.

"About two hours," she said.

The admiral turned to Jen. "Captain, assemble your rangers and search the city. I'm sure Dez has sent a few surprises to New Silver Hills," he told her.

"Understood," she said, motioning for the others. Trip and Katie followed her out the room.

"Alex, go with them," he said.

"Yes sir," he nodded, rushing out after them.

"Camille, your priority is getting the white morpher back on line for us. We're going to need the extra firepower," he said.

"I'm on it,"

"Lucas, take Lt. Emery and Nadira to the main training room. They'll need some time to adjust to their new powers, and the last thing we need are rangers won't don't know what they're doing," he said.

"Yes sir," he said, motioning for Nadira and Lt. Emery to follow him.

"Adam, I have a special assignment for you," before he could finish his statement, the doors opened and Tommy walked into the room with a concerned look on his face. "What is it Tommy? What's wrong?"

"The counsel, they're all dead," he sighed.

The admiral took a deep breath. "Adam, you and Tommy find a way to track down Dez. We need to know what his next move is," he said.

"I think I might have something that can help," Camille walked over to them. "Because all our main systems were down at the time, it was easy to isolate an external transporter pattern. Here are the coordinates that Dez transported to," she said, handing them a piece of paper.

"Thanks Camille," Adam said.

"Anytime,"

 "I'll take the rest of available personnel and start repairs deck by deck. The last thing we need is Dez catching us with our pants down," the admiral said. "Alright everyone, dismissed," he said as everyone walked out the room, leaving Camille to her work.

(*) **Xybria **(*)

He'd been reading the reports for the last few days, and although he didn't have all the details, he knew something was wrong.

_'Temporary power loses at Time Force, disruptions in the space/time continuum. That can't be good,'_ he thought to himself.

He remembered being there, and even after all the things he'd done to them, they were willing to forgive him and give him a second chance. If it hadn't been for Captain Logan and Trip, he more than likely would have been sentenced to containment for life for the things he'd done. Instead of locking him away, they gave him a second to do something worth wild with his life.

They arranged to send him to Xybria, where the Xybrian authorities welcomed him. It had been a few months, and he'd managed to get promoted rather quickly in the science department. He was well respected now among the other scientists, but he refused to just sit back while his friends were being attacked.

He stood up, making his way out the lab and down the hall to main shuttle bay. As soon as he walked in, he was greeted security.

"Working late again sir?" one of the guards asked.

"You could say that. I need to pull some censor readings off one of the shuttles. It should only take a few minutes," he told him.

"Take all the time you need sir,"

He headed towards the shuttle, climbing inside and sitting down in front of the controls. He powered up the engines, and then armed the laser banks. Before security knew what was going on, he blasted a hole in the wall and piloted the shuttle out.


	40. Chapter XL: The Invasion pt 4

The three of them walked into the main training room as the doors closed behind them. The room itself was covered with grids along the wall, making it difficult to determine exactly how big the room was.

Lucas headed over to a small panel up against one of the walls, inputting a series of numbers. "Welcome to the training room you two. Although the monsters you mutants you will see here will only be holographic, I want you to take each of them seriously. There will come a time when it's the real deal, and both of you need to be prepared," he explained.

"Yes sir," Lt. Emery said.

Just then, four creatures materialized in front of them. Each of them resembled the Vorhsoth they encountered earlier, but there were some minor differences. These creatures seemed to be much taller, and their skin was much darker.

"I've set the simulation of level three. Good luck," Lucas said.

Two of the creatures went after Nadira, but she was able to avoid their attack. The third one grabbed her from behind, but Lt. Emery got a running start and jumped on it's shoulders, then spun around, snapping it's neck. As it fell to the ground, Nadira charged after one of the creatures. She went for a sweep, but the creature avoided it, and then picked Nadira up by the throat. Nadira kicked the creature in the face, forcing it to let go, and then did a back flip, catching the last creature with a spiral kick.

Nadira and Lt. Emery stood back to back with one another. "You ready?" he asked.

She nodded. "Oh yeah," she sighed. "But can we say something like 'its morphing time' or 'gold ranger power' or something? Call me picky, but 'time for time force' just seems to take too long," she brought up.

He rolled his eyes. "Fine, whatever," he mumbled.

_'ITS MORPHING TIME,'_ they called out as their ranger uniforms replaced their clothes.

The silver ranger called for his Chrono Saber, slicing one of the creatures in half. As its body hit the ground, the remaining two creatures attacked him from behind. The gold ranger called for her saber, jumping on one of the creature's back and slit its throat, taking its head off in the process. As the body fell to the ground, the last creature turned around, only to get a spin kick to the face. That knocked it up against the wall, and both the rangers pulled out their disrupters, blasting the creature at point blank ranger.

"Not bad you two, but lets see how you do on level four," Lucas said.

Before they could say a word, they found themselves surrounded by over a dozen creatures, each of them with swords in hand and body armor.

"Oh shit," the silver ranger mumbled.

(*)

"So how long were you going to keep us in the dark about what was going on?" Trip asked him as the four of them patrolled the area.

"It was never my intention to deceive you, but I had my orders. Admiral Summers ordered me not to reveal anything about this mission until the time was right, and whether or not I agreed with those orders was besides the point," Alex told him.

"So now that it's all out in the open, what more can you tell us about what's happening?" Jen inquired.

_'With Admiral Summers gone, I don't see why I can't tell them everything now,'_ Alex thought to himself. _'Besides, who knows how the time line has been effected now that they know,'_

"About three months ago, Admiral Summers began sending me encrypted sub-space communications from the future, warning me of impending danger. She told me the whole story, how Tommy would receive the black morpher after he was released from cryogenic containment, how Dez would assemble monsters and mutants from every corner of time and space, and how this would be a critical moment for the future development of Time Force," he explained.

"You're telling me that destiny played a part in all of this? That Tommy was _meant_ to be cryogenically frozen 1000 years ago just to come here and help us stop Dez? I find that a little hard to believe," Jen mentioned.

"As unusual as it sounds, its true. Sometimes destiny has a sick sense of humor, but everything works out the way it was intended. The only problem with the Admiral's plan was that when Tommy was released, the time line was shifting so rapidly that we couldn't keep up with the changes. Ransorg screwed up the space/time continuum, and as a result, Tommy ended up with the red Chrono morpher,"

"Which is why you had to recruit Adam," Trip brought up.

"Yes. I know that if I approached Adam on his deathbed and tried to explain all of this to him, he probably wouldn't believe me. So instead, I sent Tommy to do it. In the meantime, we prepared Lucas for the black ranger powers," he told them.

"But you _had_ to know that Lucas wouldn't be able to sustain the powers with his DNA being altered," Trip said.

"I know, that's why we altered his DNA,"

"What?"

"Just enough to make him compatible with the black morpher, but it wasn't enough. His body rejected the powers, and it will take him a while before he can control any other morpher as well. His body needs time to readjust itself," he said.

"What else can you tell us about Dez?" Jen asked, switching gears.

"Nothing really. I do know that even though he _appears_ human, he's not. He's something much more. Apparently, Admiral Summers had been keeping an eye on him through the years, but something went wrong and Dez was able to get his hands on the slipstream technology. Once he did, he began traveling to different points in time in alternate realities, recruiting the most vile creatures in the universe to work for him," he told them.

"So what's his plan? World domination? You've think by now super villains would get over the world domination thing and just settle for a small city or something," Trip said.

"Dez has set his sights on _our_ city. I'm not sure why he stole our containment modules, but if those mutants are released, the world as we know it will be over," he sighed.

"Can't we just fire up the slipstream and get rangers from other worlds to help us out?" Jen asked him.

Trip shook his head. "The slipstream requires a hell of a lot of energy to function. While Time Force is on secondary backup, there isn't enough power for the slipstream to do anything. We're on our own," he said.

Jen glanced over at Katie as they walked, who hadn't said a word the entire time. "You okay Katie?" she asked.

"I'm fine,"

"You sure?" Trip asked.

"I'm just worried about Ransik, that's all," she sighed.

"He's in the best capable hands, he'll pull through," Alex told her.

Just then, Trip stopped dead in his tracks. "Wait, do you hear that?" he asked.

The rest of them stopped.

"Hear what?"

"Nothing," he said.

"Come on Trip, you can tell us,"

"No, I mean nothing. Literally. No sounds of cars going by, no crickets, no people, nothing," he pointed out.

"I hate to be the one who officially poops on the party, but this is how it always starts," Katie said.

"What do you mean?"

"Someone says _'its quiet'_, then someone else says _'yeah, too quiet,'._ Before you know it, you're under attack by some mutated freak and a hundred million of his friends. It's a classic, I've seen it a million times," she explained.

At that moment, a hoard of ceatures surrounded them, forcing them to back up. They were humanoid, but their faces were distorted somehow and had a "Z" in the middle of their chest.

"Oh geez, puddies?" Alex asked.

"Is that the best they could do, throw puddies at us," Jen mentioned.

"Sorry to disappoint you rangers, maybe I can help," they heard a voice say.

The puddies moved aside as_ he_ approached them.

"Trecheron?" Alex asked in amazement.

"I can't be. The Magna Defender defeated him years ago," Jen added.

"You are sadly mistaken ranger. And now, the only ones getting defeated around here are you and your worthless friends," Trecheron snapped.

"Alright guys, it's on," Katie said.

_'TIME FOR, TIME FORCE,'_ they called out in unison, replacing their regular clothes with their ranger uniforms.

"Alright Alex, just stay behind us," Jen said.

He chuckled. "Morpher or not, I taught you everything you know. I can handle this clown," he said with a confident tone in his voice.

The yellow and green rangers went after the puddies while the pink ranger and Alex ganged up on Trecheron. Alex went for a spin kick, but Trecheron caught his foot. Before he could follow up, Jen called for her disrupter, blasting Trecheron in the chest. It was enough to make him let go of Alex and stumble back, but Trecheron pulled out a sword, slicing Alex in the chest. As he fell to his knees, Jen called for her Chrono saber and went after Trecheron. He was able to block every swing until finally he kicked her in the chest, knocking up against a building. 

As Trecheron made his way towards Jen, Alex picked up her Chrono saber, stabbing Trecheron in the back with it. Trecheron fell to his knees, and Jen blasted him in the face with her disrupter, taking his head off in the process. As what was left of his lifeless body fell to the ground, Alex helped Jen up.

"You okay?"

"Nothing about 12 hours of sleep can't fix," she noticed the open wound on his chest. "You're hurt, we should get you back to headquarters," she said.

"I'm fine,"

The yellow and green ranger walked over to them, powering down.

"I can't believe the rangers use to have such a hard time with the puddies. I know eight year old girls who punch harder than they do," Katie said.

"And they make it so easy. They might as well wear a sign that says _'Hey, kick me in the Z'_," Trip added.

"I'm just glad everyone is in one piece, more or less," Alex groaned, holding his chest.

"You can stop with the brave act, we need to get you back to headquarters," she said.

"Its okay Katie, really. The cut isn't as bad as it…" he sentence trailed off as his eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he collapsed.

"Katie, take Alex back to headquarters. Trip and I will patrol a little longer and meet you there in two hours," Jen said.

"You got it Captain," Katie said as she picked him up without effort, heading back to headquarters.

(*)

Tommy and Adam found themselves on board a ship of some sort. They quickly turned on their cloaks so they wouldn't be detected, then silently made their way down the hallway. There were doors on each side of the hall, about at least a dozen doors.

"Where do you want to start?" Tommy asked.

"Hold on, I'll be right back," Adam said as he switched on his phase emitter, walking through the wall.

On the other side of the door seemed to be a storage room of some kind, nothing too important. The next room resembled the science lab in some ways, including a slipstream up against the far wall. Adam quickly headed back into the hall.

"Tommy," he whispered.

"Still here bro,"

"In the second room on the right is one of the slipstream things. Maybe we should see about shutting it down," he said.

"We're here to find out as much as we can. We'll need to call in some serious backup before we try to do any damage," he said.

"We should split up, see what we can find out and meet back here in fifteen minutes," Adam suggested.

"Alright man, good luck,"

~

Tommy walked into a room that looked to be a medical bay. There were machines along the walls, and monsters lying on examining tables hooked up to equipment. Before he could investigate any further, the door opened and someone walked in.

_'Finster?'_ he thought to himself

Finster walked over to one of the monsters, monitoring it's progress. Moments later, the door opened again and Deviot walked in.

"Dez wants an update on your progress," he said.

"Its still difficult to tell. These monsters were severely damaged because of instability in the temporal vortex they arrived in. It is highly unlikely any of them will be of any use to him," he said.

"I often wonder what use our master has for _you_," he snapped.

Finster turned to him. "I provide an invaluable service here, unlike most of the hired help around here. Tell the master these monsters are useless and I will have to dispose of them at once," he said.

"Very well," Deviot said, nodding slightly, then heading for the door.

Tommy followed him out the door and down the hall. Eventually, they came to the end of the hall, going into the last room on the right. Once inside, Tommy was able to get a good look at the place.

It was chamber of some kind, with dozens of long, glass tubes along the wall. _'That kinda looks like Zordon's tube,'_ he thought to himself. The majority of them had a monster inside, except for the tube in the middle of the room. It was much bigger than the others, and seemed to be filling up very slowly with a red-ish fluid.

Dez walked into the room, standing next to Deviot.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" he inquired.

"Yes sire,"

"Soon, we'll have enough to accomplish our goal, and no one in the universe will be safe. We will finally accomplish what we set out to do over 10,000 years ago," he said with a smirk.

"Yes sire,"

"What did Finster have to say?"

"He reports that the monsters were damaged during their transport and are no use to us sire. I told him he was worthless for not serving you better, but…" he was cut short.

"I guess I'll just have to find somewhere else to siphon power from," Dez said, pushing Deviot into one of the empty tubes and slamming it shut. Deviot screamed as he pounded on the glass, but soon, a red smoke filled the tube and Deviot was unconscious. "I swear, its hard to find good help these days, don't you think Tommy?" Dez asked.

Tommy paused, glancing around the room. _'My cloak is active. He can't see me,'_ he thought to himself.

"You can stop hiding behind that primitive deflector now Tommy, my censors locked onto you the moment you teleported onto my ship," he said.

Finally, Tommy reached for his Morpher, disengaging the cloak. "What are you up to Dez?" he snapped.

"I'm simply restoring the natural order of things. You see, I was robbed years ago, and I'm here now to take back what is rightfully mine," he told him.

"Whatever your evil plan is, the other rangers will stop you," Tommy said.

"After 1000 years Tommy, I would think that your concept of good and evil would be a bit more open-minded. There is no good, no evil, no right or wrong, it's simply a matter of power. What gives Time Force the right to tamper with the time line? Who are they to judge which time line is better? Or worse for that matter. The only reason they change history to their liking it because they can. It's as simple as that. When Chryo-Tech developed the means to travel back in time, suddenly Time Force declared a state of emergency. They couldn't have another organization exist with the level of technology they had, so they destroyed them," he explained.

"That isn't true,"

"You don't believe me? After all we've been through together, you can't take my word? Fine. Go back to your precious Time Force headquarters and look for yourself. Review the history logs, it's all there. Time Force are the tyrants on the universe, inflicting their will on every difference race they come in contact with. Now, they inflict their will on different worlds as well. What I'm doing here is restoring history, fixing an error that was made 1000 years ago," he told him.

Tommy paused. "Who are you?" he asked.

Dez walked over to him, leaning over and whispering in his ear. Tommy's facial expression was blank as Dez took a step back, smiling slightly. "Now go back to your headquarters, and when you discover what I've told you is true, you'll know where to find me," he sighed.

With a void look in his eyes, Tommy took a step back as he reached for his Morpher, disappearing into a stream of light.


	41. Chapter XLI: The Invasion pt 5: crossroa...

Camille had been at it for hours, going over the last modifications for the white Chrono Morpher. The lab had been completely silent since the meeting Admiral Logan held, and the silence was driving her crazy.

She'd gotten use to Jen and the others coming in and out the lab, the rhythmic hum of the slipstream, Trip rambling on and on about some new invention, but today there was nothing. With the entire building on secondary power, the slipstream had to be shut down to conserve power for other systems, personnel was down to a low at this point (with everyone either on patrol, training or tending to wounded officers) and Trip had been gone for hours.

"I'd kill for _something_ to happen," she screamed.

And it did. 

A red light began to flash on the control panel across from her, and a proximity alarm went off. Camille dropped the Morpher on the table and rushed over to the controls. _'A distress signal coming for a shuttle,'_ she observed. An image of the shuttle appeared on screen. _'That looks like an Xybrian ship,'_ she noticed.

"Unidentified shuttle, this is Lt. Camille Summers of Time Force. We have intercepted your distress call. How can I render assistance?" she asked, opening a communications channel.

The reply was mostly static. "Heavy… to the port… unable to… power levels at… cannot maintain… offline…"

"Unidentified shuttle, I have your coordinates. I am sending a rescue team to intercept you," she told them.

Realizing that most of the personnel were injured or off on other missions, there was only one thing to do. "I'll go get'em myself," she said eagerly, racing out the room.

~

The bay doors opened, and the blue time flyer shot into the sky, making its way toward the damaged shuttle. It only took Camille a few minutes to catch up with the shuttle, releasing the grappling hooks in an attempt to level off the shuttles descent. As soon as the hooks were attached, pieces of the hull broke away from the shuttle.

"That isn't going to work," she said, quickly going over other alternatives.

Before she could come up with something, an alert went off on the control panel. She glanced over at it. _'The shuttle is about to explode,'_ she observed. Running out of options, Camille put the time flyer on auto pilot, then stood up, disappearing into a stream of blue light.

She reappeared on the shuttle, which seemed to have taken heavy damage. The pilot was unconscious and slumped over the controls. Camille rushed over to him, grabbing him and reaching for her Morpher, disappearing again.

The two of them reappeared on the time flyer, and Camille set him down, heading back to the controls. She locked a torpedo on the shuttle and opened fire, destroying the shuttle before it could collide with anything.

With the worst of it over, Camille rushed back over to the pilot and rolled him over to get a good look at his wounds, but was shocked to see it was…

"Trip?" she mumbled.

(*)

Alex opened his eyes slowly, only to find himself in the infirmary. His chest had a bandage on it, and as he tried to sit up, he felt dizzy. The doctor walked over to him, motioning for him to lay back down.

"You need to conserve your energy," he said.

"Dr. Young. What happened to me?"

"Lt. Taylor brought you in here about an hour ago. You were bleeding heavily and had lost a lot of blood. Just relax, I still want to run a few tests on you," he told him.

"I don't have time, I have to…" he was cut short.

"That was a direct order Commander. Failure to comply with that order will force me to relieve you of your duties," he said.

"We're being invaded, I have…"

"You have to rest. What do you plan to do, bleed all over the enemy? Until you are cleared the two of us will be spending some time together," Dr. Young said, walking away.

Alex sighed.

(*)

"What are you looking for exactly?" Adam asked as Tommy sat down in front of the compute, going over the history logs.

"The truth," he sighed.

"You're telling me you're going to take the word of someone trying to take over the universe?" he replied.

"No, I'm not. That's why I'm checking for myself," he paused, reading over some of the files. "It says here that Chryo-Tech was founded in 2184 shortly after Bio-Lab merged with a small company to form Time Force. Both companies had the ability to travel through time, but in 2186, Chryo-Tech's technology was stolen from them," he said.

"Stolen by who?"

"It doesn't say, but I didn't expect it to," he turned the screen off. "Dez was right, Time Force _does_ inflict their will on everyone they come across," Tommy said.

"From what I've seen of Time Force, they only want to improve worlds they've visited. You said it yourself, you travel to other worlds and correct mistakes," he brought up.

"I know, but people have to be given the chance to make mistakes. It's the only way we learn from our mistakes and improve for ourselves. What's the point of trying to improve our selves if we know that Time Force will step in and fix things for us?" he asked.

"You're looking at it the wrong way. Time Force doesn't step in and make sure you find a job, or stop your girlfriend from breaking up with you, they prevent incidents that would eventually lead to war, or the destruction of the world, saves someone's life. They saved your life, they saved mine too. I'd read over some of the logs, including most of your missions. If it wasn't for Time Force, the Earth would have been destroyed a dozen times by now. Time Force has done a lot of good for the universe," Adam mentioned.

"We've also done damage. Because of us, Justin was killed in battle. Because Time Force, after I brought you to the present, Tanya searched years for you. Did you read about that in the logs?" he turned to him. "Tanya went crazy looking for you, eventually losing her mind," he told him.

"Sounds to me like you're looking for reasons to believe Dez. Listen man, no one is perfect. Time Force may have caused a few unfortunate situations, but weigh those situations against the world being destroyed, and I'd call them acceptable situations. We've all lost something; Tanya lost her mind looking for me, Kim married someone else, it comes with the job we accepted," he explained.

"I know, but…"

"But nothing. We may not agree with everything Time Force does, but they do way more good than harm. I'm proud to be here, and so should you," Adam said.

Tommy nodded.

(*)

The admiral walked into the science lab, where Camille was sitting at a table going over some calculations.

"What is the status of the white Chrono Morpher?" he asked her.

"Look for yourself sir," she said, turning his attention across the room.

The admiral glanced over to see the white ranger walking into the room, making his way towards them. "Its good to see you again sir," he said.

"Who is that?"

The white ranger removed his helmet, setting it down on the table. "Its me, sir," he said.

"Trip? But how?"

"I received a distress call about forty minutes ago from a shuttle on its way from Xybria. I intercepted with the time flyer and brought him here," Camille explained.

"Oh I see. You're the _other_ Trip," he said. "What brings you all the way from Xybria?" he asked him.

"I read the reports of problems here on Earth and I thought I'd come help. Thought you could use an extra resident genius," he told him.

"We already have two," he mentioned. "But it doesn't hurt to have another one. Welcome back," he said, extending his hand to him.

They shook hands.

Just then, the science lab doors opened as Lucas, Lt. Emery and Nadira walked in, making their way towards the others.

"Admiral, I'm pleased to report that James and Nadira are ready for anything you can throw at them," Lucas said.

"Admiral? Did he say admiral?" Trip asked.

"Yeah, he got promoted," Camille told him.

"Oh, congratulations sir,"

"Thank you,"

"Why is Trip wearing the white Morpher? It doesn't match his hair or anything," Nadira pointed out.

"This is the _other_ Trip from Xybria. Do you remember the incident with Ransorg a few months ago?" Camille asked.

"Of course,"

"_This_ Trip was from an alternate reality, but was allowed to stay when he helped us defeat Ransorg. To avoid confusion, he went back to Xybria," she said.

"So now that he's here, how will we avoid confusion?" James inquired.

"Well, one of us is the white ranger, and the other is the green ranger," they heard a voice say.

They turned around to see Jen and Trip walk into the room. Trip hurried over to his counterpart, wrapping his arms around him.

"It's good to see you man,"

"You too. White is a good color on you,"

"You think so?"

"Yeah, its nice,"

"I still prefer green though,"

"So what are you doing here?"

"Time Force's problems are common knowledge on Xybria. I thought I'd come lend a hand," he told him.

"We need all the help we can get," Trip said.

"You're right, we do," they heard another voice say.

The entire group turned around as Tommy and Adam walked into the room with their helmets under their arm. 

"Report," the admiral said.

"Tommy and I were able to get onto Dez' ship. He seems to be collecting these monsters to harness their life energy for something, but we're not sure what," Adam said.

"That's why we're going in there and shutting it down before he can figure out what he wants to do with them. If we all go in and hit him now, it should be enough to overwhelm him and give us the advantage," Tommy said.

"What about the creatures? If we shut down whatever he's using to harness their life energy, it will free them and we'll find ourselves in a world of trouble," Lucas mentioned.

"Dez is able to control them with collars," he reached in his belt, pulling out a collar. "Its broken, but I figure it should be enough for Trip to determine who it works and use them to our advantage," Adam said.

"I'm on it," both the Trip's said in unison.

"Adam, you're our secret weapon here. Even under cloak Dez was able to detect me, but your cloak is years ahead of anything we have right now. The rest of us will serve as a distraction as you get in there and destroy those tubes," Tommy said.

Adam nodded. "You got it,"

"There should be three smaller groups, each with our own objectives," he turned to James. "Lt. Emery, you will lead your team in and try to take out as many creatures as you can. Its up to you and your team to make sure Tommy and the others have a straight path to Dez. Nadira and Katie will go with you," the admiral said.

"Yes sir," James said eagerly.

"Camille, you, Tommy, Jen and Lucas find a way to get that ship on the ground. Once we can get it to land, we can lead another group of officers in," he said.

"Consider it done," Jen said.

"Trip, both of you, get to work on that collar. That could be the deciding factor in this invasion," he said.

"Yes sir," they said in unison.

"Adam, your job will be to get onto the ship and apprehend Dez by any means necessary. I'd prefer you brought him in alive, but do what you must," the admiral said.

"I understand sir,"

"Alright everyone, lets do it," he said.


	42. Chapter XLII: The Invasion pt 6: restora...

'Two days ago I was an ensign in temporal investigations; today I'm a power ranger. I don't know if I'm ready for all this,' he thought to himself as he stood in the mirror, adjusting his Time Force uniform.  
  
He'd only graduated from the academy a few months ago, and was lucky to get assigned to temporal investigations as quickly as he did. They were officers who'd been with the organization their entire careers who never had the opportunity to work in one of the most important departments in Time Force, but fresh out the academy, Commander Collins selected him. He was in the top of his class in temporal theories, and even wrote a paper on the short and long term effects in time travel. Word got around the academy very quickly that one day, James Emery would be invaluable to Time Force.  
  
Of course, he never imagined it would be so soon.  
  
Granted, every cadet in Time Force dreamed of the day that they would become power rangers, but each of them knew the chances were a billion to one. Still, it didn't stop them from imagining, and he wasn't an exception. There were even times when he'd go to the training room and run simulations of past rangers; he was the red ranger, and other former rangers comprised his team. Together, they would defend the world from the forces of evil.  
  
'None of it was real,' he reminded himself, but now, he wasn't in the training room anymore. Now, the Morpher on his wrist was real, the threat was real, and he'd been given command of his very first assignment. 'I don't know if I'm ready to lead a team yet. I've only been a ranger for twelve hours,' he thought. 'Why would the others even listen to me? They've been doing this a lot longer than I have,'  
  
He stood up straight, taking a deep breath and as zipped his uniform up, then exhaled. Commander Collins and Admiral Logan had selected him for a reason. It wasn't at random, it wasn't luck of the draw, he was chosen because he was best man for the job. With a look of confidence on his face, he walked out the room.  
  
The Lt. headed down the hall to the main exit, where the others were waiting for him. Granted, Nadira was just as new to being a ranger as he was, but Katie was a completely different story. He recalled being in his second year at the academy when she and the other rangers originally traveled to the 21st century to capture Ransik. Although in rank, he and Katie was equal, in terms of experience, there was no doubt in his mind that she should be leading this mission.  
  
"You two ready?" he inquired.  
  
The two of them stood at attention. "So what's the plan Lt.?" Katie asked him.  
  
He took a deep breath. "Tommy and Adam gave us the coordinates to Dez' ship. Reports indicate that even under cloak Dez will be able to track us, so our intention shouldn't be to remain hidden, but go in there and shove our feet up as many mutant asses as we can. With any luck, we'll be enough distraction for the others to complete their phase of the mission," he explained.  
  
"That's a hell of a plan," Katie admitted.  
  
"Thank you Lt.,"  
  
"But I think you're going to need a little more muscle," they heard a voice say from behind.  
  
Lt. Emery turned around only to see Ransik walking towards them in his old costume. The Lt. flinched slightly, unsure of what his intentions were. He'd read the reports about Ransik's mutant half being destroyed; leaving him 100% human, but he'd also read reports of Ransik killing countless humans in pursuit of world domination.  
  
"I hope you don't mind, I asked daddy to come with us," Nadira said eagerly.  
  
"Does the admiral know about this?" he asked.  
  
Ransik looked at him, then towards Katie. "The new guy, huh?" he replied.  
  
"Yup,"  
  
"He any good?"  
  
"You'd be surprised,"  
  
"I see he has a morpher,"  
  
"Yeah, silver. I got one too," Nadira said, holding up her wrist.  
  
"Who would have thought it? My little girl a ranger,"  
  
"We were all shocked. Believe me," Katie sighed.  
  
"Well," he put his arm around Lt. Emery. "If my two ladies believe in you, so do I. When do we leave?" Ransik asked. Both Nadira and Katie motioned towards the Lt. "Oh, I get it. The new guy is in charge," he stood in front on him, standing at attention. "When do we leave sir?" he repeated.  
  
He smiled. "Lets go guys," he sighed.  
  
(*)  
  
"Run another spectrographic analysis on it again, see if we can determine the frequency that way," Trip said as he turned back to the control panel.  
  
His counterpart did as instructed, placing the collar under a laser of some kind. The laser scanned it, and the readings appeared on the screen overhead. "The spectrograph didn't work. Whatever this stuff is made of, our scanners can't penetrate it," he said.  
  
"I think we're going about this the wrong way,"  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Maybe the best way to determine the frequency is to see it in action,"  
  
"But how can we see it in action if this one is broken? If we can't even figure out how it works, we can't fix it," he mentioned.  
  
"True, but we do know that it has its own unique signature to it, which allows a separate frequency to control it. If we were to find out what they signature was, we'd be able to counter the frequency and re-program it," he told him.  
  
"What do you suggest?"  
  
"We have to built a kind of signature detector. If we give it to Adam and the others, they'd be able to get a position ID on the signature,"  
  
"Then we could alter the frequency and break Dez' control of the monsters," he said.  
  
"Brilliant. I'm glad I thought of it,"  
  
"No, I thought of it," Trip said.  
  
"Same thing,"  
  
"Oh yeah,"  
  
(*)  
  
Tommy, Camille, Jen and Lucas materialized onto Dez' ship, getting a good look around. The corridors themselves were empty, with doorways on each side of the corridor.  
  
"We should switch on the cloak and." she was cut short.  
  
"That won't do us any good. Dez was able to detect me even under cloak. So, if they know we're here, lets give'em something to worry about," Tommy told them.  
  
Lucas unstrapped the phaser cannon from his back, aiming at the end of the hall and firing. The impact was enough to shake the entire ship, leaving a hole in the process.  
  
"That's our cue guys," Jen said.  
  
'TIME FOR, TIME FORCE,' they called out in unison, replacing their clothes with their ranger uniforms.  
  
Just then, each of the doors in the corridor opened, and hoards of creatures came out. Lucas aimed his cannon at one of them, blasting them in the chest. The creature disintegrated into thin air, but two more grabbed Lucas from behind, taking the cannon away from him. One of them held Lucas in place while the other aimed and fired, but Lucas sidestepped him, forcing the cannon to hit the creature, destroying it on impact.  
  
He hit a spin kick, knocking the cannon out it's hands, then did a back flip, landing on his feet and catching the cannon in his hand. He aimed and fired, destroying the creature as well.  
  
The red ranger and blue ranger found themselves being manhandled by Goldar, who grabbed them both by the throat. Both of them pulled out their disrupters and fired, knocking Goldar off his feet. The red ranger then ducked, allowing the blue ranger to jump over him, kicking Goldar in the face. He stumbled back, tripping over on of the creatures on the ground, and fell out the hole Lucas made earlier.  
  
"So much for that," Lucas said, dusting himself off.  
  
"I hope you don't think that's it rangers," a voice said.  
  
The four of them turned around as he stepped into the corridor.  
  
"Barbarax," Jen sighed in amazement, taking a step back.  
  
Barbarax didn't say a word as he rushed towards them, picking up the pink and red rangers by the throats, throwing them down the hall. The blue ranger tried a spin kick, but Babarax caught her foot, spinning him around and throwing her into Lucas. They regrouped, but Babarax picked up the pink ranger, throwing her through the hole at the end of the hall.  
  
"Jen," Tommy yelled as he tried to go after her, but Barbarax swung, hitting him in the chest and knocking him to the ground.  
  
Lucas and the blue ranger slowly backed away.  
  
"Any bright ideas?"  
  
"Now would be a good time for that backup the admiral promised us," he sighed.  
  
Barbarax cocked back and swung at Lucas, but it was the gold ranger who grabbed his arm, stopping him. Barbarax shoved the gold ranger away, but when he turned around, Tommy was laying on the ground with the phaser cannon in hand, shooting Barbarax in the face at point blank range. His body fell to the ground as the gold ranger helped Tommy up.  
  
"You okay?"  
  
"Thanks to you, but we have to get Jen. She fell through." he was cut short as Lt. Emery and Katie walked over to them holding Jen up.  
  
"Look who we found," Katie said cheerfully.  
  
"Great, the gangs all here. Now what's the plan?" Ransik asked.  
  
'That's where I come in,' they heard a voice say.  
  
Lucas reached for his Morpher. "What do you have for us Trip?" he asked.  
  
'Trip and I were able to come up with a device that will allow you to determine the frequency of the collars Dez is using. Once you find out what that frequency is, transmit it to us so we can jam the frequency and break Dez' control of the monsters,' he said.  
  
"Understood,"  
  
'We're teleporting the device to you. now,' he said.  
  
At that moment, a small metal box materialized in Lucas' hand.  
  
"Thanks Trip, we'll be in touch," he said.  
  
"I'm afraid that from this moment on, communication with anyone off this ship is impossible. Looks like all of you will be spending a lot of time with me now," they heard Dez' voice say.  
  
They followed the voice into a room at the end of the hallway. They all filed in, but the door closed behind them and they found themselves trapped behind a force field.  
  
"Let us out of here Dez," Tommy snapped.  
  
"Ah Tommy, I had such high hopes for you. I thought that if anyone would understand what I was trying to do here, it would be you. I guess being an ice cube for 1000 years gave you permanent brain freeze," he said.  
  
"You won't get away with this Dez," Jen snapped.  
  
"Famous last words of the fallen superhero. You see Jennifer, I've already gotten away with it. Each of these tubes contains one of the most vile creatures in the universe, and for the last 72 hours I've been draining their life energy. Its only a matter of minutes before years of planning will pay off, and all of you have a front row ticket to the end of the world as you know it," he said.  
  
"You mean you didn't capture all those mutants to use them against us?" Katie asked.  
  
"Oh no my dear, nothing so mundane. I plan to use their life energy to revive myself," he said.  
  
"Revive yourself?"  
  
Then it happened. it was only a moment, but Tommy saw a glimmer of something behind Dez. 'Its Adam,' he thought to himself. Knowing he had to buy Adam some extra time to do whatever he was planning, Tommy had to come up with something quick.  
  
"Tell them Dez, or I will," Tommy told him.  
  
"Very well," he took a step towards them. "You're aware of the Millennium Message, aren't you?" he asked them.  
  
"Of course we are, we sent the message," Jen said.  
  
"I know, your pathetic attempt to alter history and prevent Dark Spector from taking over the entire universe. If not for that Millennium Message, we would have succeeded," he said.  
  
"Are you saying you were there?"  
  
"Oh yes, my wife and I led the assault on Triforia. We'd captured the gold ranger and secured his powers for our own, and the government had bent to our will. We'd finally taken over the entire universe, but that damn Zordon ruined it all. When his energy tube was shattered, his wave of energy swept through the universe, eliminating every member of our alliance. My wife and I were transformed into humans, leaving us defenseless and at the mercy of the Triforian government. Luckily, they did show mercy, and we convinced them we were under Dark Spector's spell and unable to stop ourselves. We were allowed to live our lives in peace, but a year later, some of the Triforian's discovered who we really were. They came after us, and in the process, my wife was killed. I was powerless to stop them, I felt useless. I knew that the only way to reclaim my power was to take back what Zordon stole from me," he explained.  
  
"You want to be evil?"  
  
"No, I want to be powerful. If the price I have to pay for power is to serve evil, then so be it. I will take back what Zordon stripped from me and avenge Rita's senseless death," he snapped.  
  
Without warning, he walked over to the tube in the middle of the room, which appeared full, and punched it. The glass shattered, and a wave of energy swept through the room. Smoke filled the room as well, and the rangers did their best to watch on as they heard Dez screaming through the smoke.  
  
Adam, who'd planned on destroying the tube himself, tried to get back to his feet, rushing over to the rangers to free them. "Hold on guys, I'll get you out of there," he told them.  
  
Seconds later, the smoke cleared, and Adam was able to de-activate the forcefield. Soon, all the smoke was gone, and he was standing there with his chrome staff in hand.  
  
"What a rush!" he screamed as the energy surged through his body.  
  
Tommy and the others looked on in pure amazement as Dez had been completely transformed into..  
  
"Lord Zedd," Ransik sighed. 


	43. Chapter XLIII: The Invasion pt 7: sacrif...

"Lord Zedd," Ransik sighed.

"It's a shame you went through all that trouble to restore your power. Now I have to take you down," Adam said as he disengaged his cloak, going after Zedd. The two golden blades extended from his forearms, but before he could make a move, Zedd's staff materialized in his hand. Adam swung, but Zedd was able to block it, and then counter with a kick. Adam crashed through one of the tubes holding a mutant, and before he could get up, Zedd shot an energy beam at him, sending him through the wall.

As soon as Adam got back to his feet, Zedd came after him, cocking back and trying to stab him through the chest, but Adam caught the staff in his hand, using it to pick Zedd up and throw him across the room. Adam stumbled through the hole in the wall, standing in front of the control panel.

"I thought you were suppose to be powerful. Is that all you got?" Adam taunted.

"You haven't seen a portion of my power you pathetic ranger," Zedd snarled, shooting about energy bolt at him.

Adam dodged the bolt and it connected with the control panel, deactivating the force field holding the other rangers.

"Alright guys, lets get'em," Tommy said.

The red and pink ranger called for their Chrono sabers and double teamed Zedd with a double spin kick, followed by Lucas picking up the phaser cannon, aiming and firing at Zedd. He managed to avoid being hit and deflected the beam back at Lucas. Lucas dived out the way, and the beam hit the side of the ship.

"Oh no," Ransik sighed as the pressure began to suck everything through the hole. He quickly dived for the hole, trying to block it. "I can't hold it forever rangers, finish this," he screamed.

The yellow, gold and white ranger teamed up on Zedd with a triple tornado kick, knocking his staff out his hand. It was the red ranger would caught it, then aimed it at Lord Zedd and fired it. That was enough to knock Zedd against the wall, falling to his knees.

The blue ranger hurried over to the only functioning control panel, going over the readings. She turned up one of the active modules, opening the door as a lifeless mutant fell out. "Get'em in the tube," she screamed to the others.

It was the white and gold rangers who got the message, hitting a double spin kick and knocking Zedd into the module. As soon as he was in, the blue ranger closed the door and activated the module, trapping Zedd inside.

"What are you doing?" Tommy asked.

"Giving Zedd a taste of his own medicine," she said as the machine lit up, sucking the life out of him.

"So that's it, it's over," Nadira sighed with relief.

Then it happened……

"Goodbye rangers," Ransik mumbled as he was ripped in half by the pressure, sucking him through the hole in the ship.

"NOOOO!" Katie yelled as she jumped through the hole, going after him.

Camille hurried back to the controls. "If we don't get this ship stabilized soon, we're all going to die in the crash," she said.

_'Cammy, this is Trip. Do you read me?'_ a voice asked.

"Loud and clear baby,"

_'With the forcefields down, I was able to tap into the ship's navigational systems. I'm overriding the controls and setting it on auto-destruct,'_ he said.

"But we're all still here and we have Lord Zedd in custody,"

_'You'll have to leave him. According to my calculations, that ship will collide with downtown Silver Hills and kill everyone within a mile radius. The only way to prevent that is auto-destruct,'_ he said.

"How long do we have?"

_'Two minutes,'_ he said.

"You heard the man, lets get moving," the gold ranger said.

"You guys go, I'm going to see if I can save the module," Camille said.

"Camille, we don't have time for this," Jen said.

"Just go!" she screamed.

Jen, Tommy, Nadira and Lt. Emery reached for their morphers, disappearing into streams of light, leaving Camille, Lucas and Adam behind.

"90 seconds," Lucas reminded her.

"I'm working on it. Adam, I put the module on reserve power, it should be able to sustain Zedd for about one hour. Take the module and get back to Time Force," she ordered.

"I'm on it," he said, rushing over to the module and disconnecting it from the rest of the ship. As soon as he picked the module up, it was sucked through the hole in the side of the ship. "Damn it," Adam mumbled, reaching for the module, but Lucas grabbed him.

"Let it go man, its gone," he sighed.

"Lets get out of here guys," she said, grabbing Luca by the hand as the two of them disappearing into another stream of light.

(*)

Adam opened his eyes slowly, only to find himself in a medical bay. He sat up slowly, trying to shake off the disorientation. As he glanced around, he realized he wasn't the only person there. Across from him were Jen, Tommy and Katie. He slid off the examining table, walking over to Katie, who had been hooked to several machines.

"It looks pretty bad for her," Dr. Young said as he walked in the room with a clipboard in hand.

"What happened to her?"

"From what I can tell, she has several broken bones and had some major internal bleeding. She was barely alive when Lt. Emery and Nadira brought her in, but I was able to stabilize her condition," he told him.

"Will she live?"

"Its 50/50 at the moment. She lost a lot of blood, and until I run some more tests, I won't even be able to ascertain the extent of the damage done," he said.

"What about the others?"

"Captain Scott and Lt. Oliver had some minor cuts and bruises. They'll both be fine," the doctor informed him.

Just then, the Admiral walked into the medical bay, excusing the doctor from the room. Adam quickly stood at attention.

"At ease Mr. Park," Adam sat on the edge of the examining table. "How are you feeling?" he inquired.

"Like I got hit by a mack truck, but I'll be okay. I'm more worried about Katie," he told him.

"I read Camille's official report. She said Ransik used his body to seal a breach in the ship, and was eventually sucked through. The pressure was said to rip him in half," he sighed.

"Yes sir,"

"We have search parties searching for his body, but we haven't found anything yet,"

"Did you find Lord Zedd?" Adam asked.

"What do you mean?"

"When I disconnected the module from the wall, the module was sucked through the hole," he told him.

"Our initial search party _did_ find a module, but it was destroyed and there was no one inside," the admiral said.

"You mean he's still out there?"

"From what I've read in the reports, the only reason Kate survived the fall was because she was morphed and managed to land in water, not to mention her enhanced strength. We found the module a few miles away from the ocean, there is no way anyone could have survived a fall like that," he assured him.

"Lets hope not,"

"Its going to be a few weeks before we can get all systems up and running again, which means all of you will be getting some much needed rest. I suggest you take this time off and use it wisely," he said.

"Yes sir," he sighed.

~

"I wish you didn't have to go back as soon. It would have been nice if you could stick around a little longer," Trip said as he stood in front of his counterpart.

"Yeah, how often does a girl get to have a threesome without cheating on her man," Camille added as she walked over to them, wrapping her arms around _her_ Trip.

They all laughed. "I'd love to stay, but I'm sure I'll have a lot of explaining to do to the Xybrian authorities when I get back," he told them, reaching for the white Chrono Morpher on his wrist. "Here, this belongs to you,"

Camille shook her head. "No, you keep it. Now that we have Nadira and Lt. Emery, we'll have more than enough help around here," she said.

"Thank you, both of you. You've been very kind,"

"Like I said, you're practically family," Trip said as he hugged him.

Camille wrapped her arms around him as well, kissing him gently on the cheek. "You keep in touch," she sighed.

"I will,"

"We managed to repair your shuttle. It isn't much, but it should get you back to Xybria with no problem," Trip said.

"Thanks," he said, nodding slightly as he headed for his shuttle.

Trip and Camille watched as the shuttle lifted off, disappearing into the sky.

"You think he was cuter than me, don't you?" Trip asked.

"Of course not, white isn't really your color," Camille giggled as she kissed him on the cheek, and then walked away.

~

Lucas stood in the doorway, only to see that the room was completely dark. "Lights," he called out, but the computer didn't oblige him.

He cautiously walked into the room, where he found Nadira sitting on the couch, simply staring at the wall.

"Are you okay?" he inquired, sitting down next to her.

"I can't believe he's gone," she cried, resting her head on his shoulder.

"He gave his life to protect us Nadira. He knew what we was doing," he told her, realizing that it wouldn't offer her much comfort.

"Admiral Logan told me that Time Force would be holding a memorial service for him next week as a way to honor what he did," she said.

"He deserves it,"

"How am I supposed to live without him? He always took care of me," she cried as her emotions got the best of her.

"I guess I'll have to take care of you from now on," he paused. "I was thinking; now that I'm back in Time Force, I won't have as much time to spend with you. I thought it would be nice if you moved in here, so we could at least spend evenings together," he said.

"You mean it?"

"Yeah. I meant to ask you before we went on the mission, but things were kinda hectic around here," Lucas said. "Besides, you don't want to go back to your old quarters. I'm sure there are too many memories there for you," Lucas told her.

She wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. "Thank you Lucas, I appreciate the offer, but I think its time I started taking care of myself for once," Nadira sighed.

(*) **Location: unknown** (*)

The sun was beginning to set as the light reflected off the waves in the ocean. Time Force officers were scattered near the shore, examining the wreckage. Finally, one of the officers walked over to Lt. Emery, who was still wearing his gold ranger uniform.

"Sir, we've finished our sweep of the area and have found nothing out of the ordinary. We did however find something you should take a look at," he said.

"What is it ensign?" he asked. He would never admit it, but there was part of him that enjoyed having people call him sir. _'After all, I was just an ensign a few days ago,'_ he thought to himself.

He followed the ensign to the edge of the river, where other officers were pushing a stretcher with a white sheet over it. "We found him floating about a half mile east of here," the ensign told him.

Lt. Emery pulled back the sheet, revealing the remains of Ransik. The sight of it was enough to make him cringe. "Jesus, where is the rest of him?"

"We haven't found it yet, sir," he sighed.

"Continue your search ensign, contact me if you find anything. I'll report your findings to the admiral at once," he said.

"Yes sir,"

Lt. Emery headed towards the truck they arrived in, sitting in the passenger seat and letting out a sign of frustration.

~

He'd been hiding in the forest since they arrived, watching them as they searched endlessly for him. _'Those pathetic rangers think that's it. They think its over. This is only a minor setback, and soon, very soon, they will feel my wrath,'_ he thought to himself as he watched the Time Force officers continue their search, then disappeared into the shadows.


	44. Chapter XLIV: Aftermath

**Author's note:** You guys have been more than supportive of the Parallels series, and I thank you all for it. CMar, you have been my inspiration and I love you dearly for it. Special thanks to Goldstranger and Silver Warrior for your in-depth reviews, you make it a pleasure to write. Enjoy.

The sun had set hours ago, and moonlight filled the sky, but Adam refused to move from that spot. He'd been there most of the evening, and even when it began to rain, he stood his ground.

His clothes were long since soaked, but that didn't seem to bother him. There wasn't anywhere else that he wanted to be at that moment. 

He recalled coming to the same spot with Rocky and the others years ago to pay their respects to Trini and Zach, and it was just as depressing then and it is now. _'Maybe even more,'_ he sighed inwardly. It was strange to see that even after 1000 years, everything seemed to be untouched by the passage of time. The only thing different was that now, there were a lot more headstones. 

As the rain came down, disguising the tears in his eyes, he leaded down to one knee, wiping away the dirt away from her headstone. "Hello Tanya," he sighed, taking a deep breath. "I wish things could have different, I wish I'd had the chance to tell you how I truly felt about you," he said.

During their tenure as Zeo rangers, there never seemed to be a good time to approach her. There was always something stopping him. The Machine Empire, attacks on the city, not to mention his own reluctance to tell her the truth. Even after they made the switch to the Turbo technology, and eventually stepped down as rangers altogether, there never seemed to be a _good time_. The truth was, he had been in love with her from the moment he saw her, although technically, he was only 10 years old. During the Zeo quest, he and the other rangers were temporarily changed into children, and when Aisha chose to remain in Africa and allow Tanya to take her place, Tanya was a child as well.

He remembered being attracted to her even then, and once the spell was broken and they were restored to their normal selves, he was even _more_ attracted to her. But still, he could never get up the nerve to tell her.

Then, to make things worse, she didn't tell him how she truly felt until he was on his deathbed. Morphing without a power coin would have killed him if it hadn't been for Tommy.

Now, Adam found himself 1000 years in the future, being forced to adapt to an entirely different way of life almost overnight. Part of him wish he died in Tanya's arms in that hospital, at least that way he didn't have to live with the pain of knowing that she loved him as much as he loved her but couldn't be with her.

Ironically enough, his headstone was right next to her. _'I suppose Jason and the others thought it was the right thing to do,'_ he thought to himself. 

"I'm a ranger again, and I've been able to do some good in this time. I only wish you could see me now," he said, wiping the tears and rain away from his eyes.

Finally, he reached into his trench coat, pulling out a single white rose, kissing the peddles gently before placing it on her gravesite, then walking away slowly.

(*)

Tommy had been in front of the mirror for the last fifteen minutes, trying to decide which shirt to wear. He held the white button up shirt with a red tie up to his chest and admired it in the mirror, then held up the black polo shirt up to his chest, comparing the two. _'Its never been this hard to pick something to wear,'_ he thought to himself, but he wanted everything to be perfect. The last time he and Jen tried to spend some quality time together, not only did he feel under dressed for the occasion, they were also interrupted. 

_'This time is going to be different,'_ he thought as he finally decided on the black shirt and red tie. As he got dressed, he tried to go over exactly what he wanted to say to her. "Jen, I know things have been hectic the last few weeks, but now that we have this time, I want to tell you how I really feel…" he paused, shaking his head. "Damn I sound desperate and lonely," he sighed.

"You know, you could just tell her the truth. What's the worse that could happen?" a voice asked.

Through the reflection in the mirror he could see Camille standing in the doorway of his quarters. Not even bothering to turn around, he shook his head.

"What do you mean?"

"Its been obvious for months that you and Jen are an accident waiting to happen. I understand there have been a lot of things standing in your way; that whole Wes and Kim getting together in the past thing had to be a lot for both of you to deal with, but you _have_ dealt with it. Now that the world isn't being threatened by some sinister force and we have some time on our hands, you should take advantage and tell her how you feel," she explained to him.

"That's just it, I don't know how I feel," he said as he continued to fumble with his tie, but wasn't doing a very good job.

Camille walked in, standing in front of him and fixing his tie for him. "Sure you do, you're just not sure if you want to admit it to her yet," she paused, continuing to work on his tie. "You love her, you always have. And I'm willing to bet she feels the same way, but one of you are going to have to stop being stubborn and say something," she told him.

"You think she loves me?"

"You can see it in her eyes. Either she loves you or you always have a booger hanging out your nose. Don't you see the way she looks at you?"

"No,"

"Typical man. You're worse than Trip. I gave him every signal in the world that I was interested in him, but he never picked up on it. Finally I just had to come out and tell him how I felt about him," she said.

"How did that work out for you?"

"We've been together ever since. Trust me, Jen adores you," Camille said.

"I don't suppose Jen will get sick of waiting for me to say something and just…" he was cut short.

"I wouldn't bet on it," she sighed, finishing his tie.

"I didn't think so either," he leaned down, kissing Camille on the cheek. "Thanks Cam, for everything," he said.

"Anytime," she smiled.

(*)

Trip had been at her side all night long, refusing to move. The chairs in the medical lab were more than uncomfortable, and despite his effort, he hadn't been able to fall asleep. It hurt him to see Katie hooked up to machines, and he felt helpless being unable to do something for her.

When he originally joined Time Force, the other cadets didn't exactly welcome the only Xybrian in their class with open arms. He was constantly picked on, but then _she_ came along. Katie took up for him, telling him that they would continue to pick on him until he learned to stand up for himself. The two of them began to take martial arts classes together, and though he never had the same strength and abilities that Katie had, he was able to hold on own.

After so long, the other cadets began to accept him, and from that moment on, he and Katie were inseparable. They were the best of friends, and once they graduated from the academy, they made sure they were assigned to the same unit. For years, Katie was his only friend, and it broke his heart to see her like that.

He reached over slightly, grabbing her hand. "I know you're in there Katie, and I know you can hear me. I miss you," he said.

She didn't respond, but then again, he didn't expect her to.

"You're still here Trip?" a voice asked.

He turned around to see Dr. Young walking into the room with a clipboard in hand.

"Yeah, still here," he sighed. His voice was dry and raspy, and it was becoming difficult to keep his eyes open, but he was determined to stay.

"I told you I'd alert you when her condition changed even in the slightest, there was no need for you to stay," he said.

"I know, I just wanted to,"

"You'll be pleased to know that she's coming along very nicely. I can't explain it, but her body seems to be healing itself," he mentioned.

"But how?"

"Like I said, I don't know. Maybe it has something to do with her unique physical make up. According to all my tests, Katie _is_ human, but I can't account for her added strength and healing abilities. Maybe its something genetic, something in her family's bloodline. All I can tell you is that I've never seen anything like it before. If she had been any other person, jumping out a plane like that would have been suicide," he explained.

"When will she wake up?"

"I don't know. According to the tests, she could open her eyes at any moment, but she isn't ready to. If I had to take a guess, shes dreaming," he said.

"About what?"

"I have no idea, but her heart rate hasn't risen and her pulse is steady. So, based on what I know, it isn't a bad dream," Dr. Young said.

"Thanks again doc,"

"I suggest you get some rest. You'll be no good to know exhausted like that. If anything changes, I'll contact you first," he said.

Trip stood up. "I guess you're right doc," he sighed, making his way towards the door.

(*)

Their quarters were only two bedrooms, and there never seemed to be enough room for all of her things. Now that _he_ was gone, her quarters seemed much too big. She sat down on the couch, putting her feet up on the table and leaning back, trying to come to terms with everything.

Fatigue was getting the best of her. Since the _accident_, she hadn't been getting much sleep. Lucas encouraged her to rest, but for some reason, she simply hadn't been able to.

For the last few days, everyone had been telling her the same thing. _'He died in the line of duty. Its how he would have wanted it,'_ or _'It was an honorable death, sacrificing himself to save his friends,'_ but somehow, that gave her little comfort.

She glanced at a picture of the two of them on the table, cracking a smile as she picked it up and admired it. "What am I suppose to do without you daddy?" she asked.

_"You'll live your life precious,"_ she heard a voice say.

She turned her head slightly only to see _him_ standing there. "Daddy?" she squealed, leaping off the couch and over to him. She tried to wrap her arms around her, but she seemed to pass right through him.

_"I know I wasn't always the perfect father to you, but I do know that you're old enough to take care of yourself now. You're a big girl Nadira,"_ he told her.

She took a step back, getting a good look at him. Although she could see him, she could also seem _through_ him. 

"But I don't know how daddy,"

_"You're not alone Nadira. Lucas and the others will be there for you just in case things don't work out the way you planned them. I know you'll be fine,"_ he said.

"You always did believe me in,"

_"And even when I wasn't exactly making the best decisions, you believed in me. Because of you, I was able to change my life for the better. Now its time for you to do the same for yourself,"_ he told her.

"But I miss you daddy,"

_"And I miss you too, but don't live your life mourning me. You have your whole life ahead of you. You're a ranger now, and Lucas loves you. Focus on the good things in your life, and you'll be fine,"_ he assured her.

"I love you daddy," she cried.

_"And I will always love you precious,"_ he said.

She closed her eyes and leaned over to kiss him, but when she opened her eyes, she found herself still lying on the couch. Nadira sat up, picking up the picture of her father on the table. "Thank you for believing in me daddy," she sighed.

(*)

Jen glanced at her wrist to check the time, only to remember that she didn't bring her Morpher with her. Today, there was no need to. She was determined that this time, nothing was going to interrupt her time with Tommy.

She found herself sitting alone in the café, admiring the atmosphere. When Camille originally suggested the café, she thought it was the best idea. But after actually walking in and getting a good look at the place, she regretted not coming in sooner. The smell of hamburgers and bacon seemed to fill the entire café, and everyone seemed to be having a good time. She'd found a cozy little booth off in the corner, allowing her to see the entrance, but far enough away that no one else could see her.

Just then, _he_ walked in. She quickly stood up, waving her arm slightly to get his attention. He saw her, making his way towards her.

"Sorry I was late, I just to make sure I…" he paused, noticing she had on a pair of jeans and a baggy sweater. Her hair was pulled back in a pony and she had a pair of sunglasses resting comfortably on her head. "Geez, now I'm over dressed," he said.

"No, you're not. You look very nice," she assured him.

"Thanks," he sighed, sitting down across from her in the booth. "I just wanted everything to go smoothly tonight. Our last date didn't go very well,"

"I know,"

"Did you order yet?" he asked.

"No, I wanted to wait for you," she picked up the menu. "Camille recommended the bacon and eggs,"

"This late? I was kinda hoping for a burger and some juice," he said.

Just then, the waitress walked over to them. "Are the two of you ready to order?" she asked.

"Yes," Tommy closed his menu. "I'd like a double cheese burger and a grape juice, if you have it," he said.

"No problem," she turned to Jen. "And you ma'am?"

"Give me the same," Jen said.

"I'll be back in a jiffy," she said, walking away.

"So…" he paused. "Admiral Logan said that the repair teams will have the science lab operational again in about a week. I guess we should enjoy our vacation while we can," he mentioned.

"No shop talk Tommy, not today," she said.

"Fine with me," 

"Tommy, the last time we tried this, there were a lot of things I wanted to tell you. Now that we're finally alone, I want to…" she was cut short as Lt. Emery walked over to them.

"Hey guys, what are you doing here?" he asked cheerfully.

"Getting something to eat," Tommy said dryly.

"Mind if I join you?" he asked.

"Yes," they said in unison, not realizing how rude they sounded until it was too late.

Lt. Emery took a step back. "Whoa, I can take a hint. I'll leave you two alone," he said, finding a different seat.

"He's a good guy, but he has very bad timing," Jen said.

"Yeah," he agreed.

She paused. "I've never been good at this, so I'll just come out and say it. The last time I was in a serious relationship was with Alex. We were engaged for a while, but when I went back to the 21st century, he just grew apart. There were a lot of complications that stopped us from being together when I got back," he said.

"Wes," he brought up.

"Don't get me wrong, I loved Wes. In a lot of ways I still do, but part of me believes that I was looking for reasons not to marry Alex. By the time I got back to the present, I'd changed. It took me a long time to accept that I could never be with Wes, and it took even longer for Alex and I to put the past behind us and become friends," she took a deep breath. "But now I think its time to concentrate on how I feel here and now," she said.

"And how _do_ you feel?" Tommy asked.

She hesitated again. "I know that you're still not over losing Kimberly the way you did, but I was hoping that we…" she was cut short as the waitress returned.

"Here you are. Enjoy," she said, putting their plates and glasses down on the table. "If you need anything, my name is Mandi, just ask for me," she said cheerfully, walking away.

"What were you saying?" he inquired.

"I was saying that it would be nice if we…" she paused. "I mean, it would be great if we could…" she paused again. "What I mean to say is that I…" she sighed with frustration.

"I think it would be a great idea," he said.

"You do?"

He nodded. "I know our situation has been strange to say the least, but I feel the same way. I always have," he said.

"You have?"

He didn't respond. Instead, he stood up, making his way to the other side of the booth and sat next to her. Before she could do anything, he leaned in, kissing her gently on the lips. He backed away slowly, only to see that Jen's eyes were still closed.

"Camille was right, this café is great," Jen sighed.

Tommy smiled. "I don't know about you, but suddenly I'm craving desert," he mentioned.

"Oh yeah, me too,"

Tommy stood up slightly. "Mandi, check please," he called out.

Make sure you check out "Power Rangers Zeo Genesis: The Eltarian Chronicles" 


	45. Chapter XLV: Dreamscape

**Author's note: **This chapter contains portions of _Aftermath_ and is partially in first person POV. Dream portions are _suppose_ to appear in italics, but my ff.net messes it up during the upload. Hope it doesn't confuse anyone. Enjoy. 

"You'll be pleased to know that she's coming along very nicely. I can't explain it, but her body seems to be healing itself," he mentioned.

"But how?"

"Like I said, I don't know. Maybe it has something to do with her unique physical make up. According to all my tests, Katie _is_ human, but I can't account for her added strength and healing abilities. Maybe its something genetic, something in her family's bloodline. All I can tell you is that I've never seen anything like it before. If she had been any other person, jumping out a plane like that would have been suicide," he explained.

"When will she wake up?"

"I don't know. According to the tests, she could open her eyes at any moment, but she isn't ready to. If I had to take a guess, she's dreaming," he said.

"About what?"

"I have no idea, but her heart rate hasn't risen and her pulse is steady. So, based on what I know, it isn't a bad dream," Dr. Young said.

~

"Oh honey, we're all so proud of you," my mother said, kissing me on the forehead as she wrapped her arms around me.

_"Come on mom, I'm only a cadet. Don't send me flowers yet, I still have two years to go before I'm officially in Time Force," I reminded her, not that it meant anything to her. If you were to ask her, I'd be a full fledge captain straight out the academy and in control of my own unit._

_"You'll do just fine Katie," she said._

_"Do you need any money?" my father asked, reaching for his wallet._

_"No, I'll be fine. Tuition pays for most of it, I'll be okay," I said._

_"Are you sure honey?"_

_"Yes daddy, I'll be fine. I promise," I sighed._

_My father was always over protective of me. Even when I was younger, he was constantly watching over me. It was probably because I was his only little girl, or it could have had something to do with my "special abilities". Before me, my parents had three boys, so not only was I the only daughter, I was their youngest child. Growing up, momma was the one who allowed me to be semi-independent, but daddy was determined that I was his little girl the rest of my life. I never got mad, I knew he meant well._

_"Do you think you'll get to meet any power rangers?" my brother asked as he walked into the room with a suitcase in each hand._

_Khalil was my youngest brother, but still older than me by a few years. My other two brothers were much older than Khalil and I, so we related to each other a little better. _

_"I doubt I'll meet any of the rangers, I'm just a cadet," I mentioned… again. _

_I was saved by the bell when, outside the house, we heard a car horn blow. Khalil peeked out the window. "Its them, it's the transport," he said._

_"Well honey, this is it," my mother said, wrapping her arms around me again. This time my father joined in too._

_"I'll call you guys as soon as I get there and settle in," I promised._

_My father opened the door for me, first letting Khalil out with my bags. I was surprised that he didn't follow me out the transport. The driver got out the bus, opening the cargo doors in the back of the bus, allowing my brother to put my bags in._

_"I guess this is it sis," he said._

_"Don't you go gettin' all emotional on me too, this is hard enough for me," I said._

_"I'm not. Just take care of yourself," he told me._

_"I will,"_

_Khalil stood in front of the house and watched me as I got on the transport, taking a window seat. I knew he would never admit to it, but there was part of Khalil that was jealous I was going to the academy and he wasn't. He'd applied two years in a row, and each time they turned him down. He planned to go this year, but never got around to it. I was just as surprised as anyone when I got my acceptance letter in the mail._

_As the bus drove away, I watched Khalil until finally, I couldn't see him anymore._

(*)

"This is amazing," Dr. Young said as he went over the analysis in the medical bay, comparing it to the readings on the machinery.

"What is it doctor?" Nadira asked as she walked in the room wearing her Time Force uniform. She'd never admit it, but she loved the way it clung to her.

"The rate of cell reproduction is unlike anything I've ever seen before. Its almost ten times faster than any human I've ever seen," he said.

"Well, Katie isn't all human. She's part Ether," she said.

He paused. "I think you mean Ethros, but not even an Ethros demon had that kind of cell regeneration. There has to be something accelerating the regeneration process," he said.

"Like what?"

"There's a lot we don't know about the Ethros race, and from what I remember, they're not exactly the friendliest race in the galaxy," he mentioned.

"I wonder how Katie's mom hooked up with an Ethros in the first place," Nadira brought up.

"According to her files, Katie's mother _was_ an Ethros. Her father was human," Dr. Young told her.

"Daddy dealt with the Ethros once, they're not the most attractive race in the universe. I still don't know how it could have happened," she said.

"I guess we'll never know," he said as he glanced over at Katie, who was still motionless on the examining table.

(*)

I sat on down at the first seat I came to, letting out a sigh of relief. The bus itself was full of other would be cadets on their way to the academy as well; some human, some not. I opened the window for some air and closed my eyes as I leaned back, trying to relax before we got there, still unsure of what to expect when I arrived.

_"Leave me alone," I heard a voice say, but tried to ignore it._

_"I don't even know how you got accepted into Time Force. I didn't know they let freaks in," another voice said._

_"I am not a freak, I'm Xybrian,"_

_"That's even worse, you wanna be physics make me sick,"_

_Finally, I stood up and turned around, trying to find out what the problem was. There was an Xybrian sitting two seats behind me, and a Myzerian sitting next to him. He wasn't the first Xybrian I'd seen before, but he was definitely the smallest. Like most Xybrians, his hair was green, and he had a jewel in the middle of his forehead. Myzerians, on the other hand, were known as a very aggressive race._

_"Just leave me alone," the Xybrian repeated._

_"Not until you…"_

_"I think the kid said leave him alone," I said._

_The Myzerian looked up at me. "Just stay out of this bitch," he snapped, turning his attention back to the Xybrian._

_He swung at the Xybrian, but I caught his arm, throwing him down to the floor. Everyone on the bus watched on as the Myzerian got back to his feet, staring at me with contempt on his face. "The Xybrian is off the hook, but your ass is next," he snarled._

_He lunged at me, but I side stepped him and gave him a push, sending him face first through the window. Before he could move, I let the window up, trapping his head outside the bus._

_"Now when I let you out, you're going to apologize to the kid and sit in your seat, aren't you?" I asked him._

_"You're out your damn mind," he screamed._

_I let the window up a little more._

_"Aren't you?" I repeated._

_"Yes," he managed to mumble._

_I let the window all the day down, and as the Myzerian regained his composure, he walked towards the Xybrian. "Sorry dude," he mumbled, walking away._

_"Are you okay?" I asked, turning to the Xybrian._

_"Yeah, I good. Thanks," he said._

_"No problem," I said, sitting back down in my seat and closing my eyes._

_Before I knew it, the Xybrian got up, sitting down next to me. I looked at him with a goofy ass look on his face._

_"I'm Trip, from Xybria," he grabbed my hand, shaking it. "I'm the first Xybrian ever accepted into Time Force, so this is a big deal for me. My mom says that I should expect people to be upset about it, but not to let it bother me. I got a full scholarship from my high school, and I'm going to major in temporal mechanics," he said._

_I was beginning to see why the Myzerian had been harassing him. "That's nice," I sighed._

_"What's your name?"_

_"Katie," I moaned, not even opening my eyes._

_"Very nice to meet you Katie," he paused, and I thought the senseless babbling was over, but he continued. "Do you know what classes you're going to have?" he asked._

_"No,"_

_"Can I see your schedule?" he asked._

_Again, without opening my ass, I reached into my jacket pocket and handed it to him._

_"Oooh, we both have Lt. Commander Logan for temporal mechanics, that should be interesting," he said._

_"Yeah, I'm thrilled," I sighed, realizing that I wasn't going to be getting any sleep before we got the academy._

(*)

Alex had been standing in the doorway for a while, debating on whether or not to go in. Dr. Young encouraged him, saying that talking to Katie while she was asleep was actually therapeutic, but he wasn't sure he was the right person for the job. _'Its not like Katie and I were actually friends. We just worked together,'_ he thought to himself.

It was something that had eluded him his entire Time Force career. Sure, he graduated with honors; he was one of the youngest Lt. to be promoted to Lt. Commander, then to commander only a 18 months later. He was the first to test the red Chrono Morpher and he was given complete control of temporal investigations. There was no doubt he was one of the most decorated officers in Time Force history, and he was respected by everyone he worked with, but that was as far as it went.

Jen and the others had a friendship that transcended Jen's official rank of captain. They all listened to Jen because they _wanted_ to, not because of obligation. They trusted Jen, and he didn't doubt for a moment that any of them would give their life to save her. Even during his short stint as leader of the group, he didn't get the feeling that they liked him very much. Even though it was for the best, in the end, they chose Jen.

There was no one to blame but himself. He'd always gone out of his way to isolate himself from the others. In a sense, he didn't want to belong. _'I have a job to do, anything else would just be a distraction,'_ he thought, but now, in retrospect, he realized just how wrong he was.

He walked into the medical bay, sitting down in the chair next to the bed, simply watching as Katie slept. "On your feet Lt, that's an order," he said.

There was no response.

He sighed inwardly. "I didn't think that would work, but it was worth a try. Dr. Young said that you're almost completely healed, and he can't explain why you're still asleep. You've got a lot of people worried about you Kathryn, so snap out of it," he said, this time reaching over and grabbing her hand.

Still, no response, but this time, even though her eyes were closed, Alex could tell that her eyes were moving.

"She's still dreaming," he sighed.

(*)

I sat outside the commander's office with a lump in my throat. I'd seen it too many times before; someone gets called into his office, and you'd never see them again. The commander didn't exactly have the friendliest reputation, and he never called anyone in his office for good news. Still, I wasn't sure what I could have done to upset him.

_I'd just graduated from the academy, and even though I didn't do as well as I'd liked to, I was still one of the top ten in my class. With the exception of being late for curfew a couple times, there was nothing on my permanent record, so I was baffled when I got a call from him saying he wanted to see me._

_"Cadet, could you come in please?" I heard him ask._

_I nervously stood up, making my way into the office, only to see that I wasn't the only one there. There was a woman there, with brownish blonde hair and an insincere smile on her face. Next to her was Trip, the Xybrian. It took me almost a year to learn how to tolerate that kid, but now, we were the best of friends. I don't think I would have made it through the academy without Trip sitting up with me for those cram sessions. And lastly, there was another guy there. I'll admit, he was attractive, but even from first sight I could tell the guy was full of himself, constantly picking at his hair._

_"You wanted to see me sir?" I mumbled._

_"Yes, have a seat," I sat down in the only empty chair in front of his desk, which just happened to be next to Trip. "Ms. Taylor, I'd like to introduce you to Jennifer Scott," he said._

_I nodded slightly. Now that he'd mentioned her name, I remembered seeing her before. During target practice, I'd noticed the commander giving her a few "pointers". We all suspected that he had a thing for her, but none of my classmates were gong to mention it to him._

_"Alex…I mean, Commander Collins says you graduated in the top of your class," she said._

_"Yeah," I sighed humbly._

_"Also, this is Lucas Kendall," the commander said._

_"Hey," he mumbled._

_"Hey,"_

_"And you already know Trip," he said._

_"Oh yeah, Katie and I got way back," Trip said._

_"Everyone, this is Kathryn Taylor. I've asked the four of you here because you'll all considered experts in your respective fields. Lucas, you're an excellent pilot, I've heard you can drive anything," he nodded, accepting his compliment. "Trip, you graduated with honors in temporal mechanics. I'll admit, that was my toughest class in the academy. Katie, you have a degree in criminal physiology, and from what I hear, was able to hold your own in a debate about the death penalty against Captain Logan. Not a small feat. Jennifer, you're a crack shot have mastered tactical scenarios. I believe that together, the four of you will be a formidable team," he told us._

_"Team? What kind of team?" I asked._

_"All of you are aware of the mutant threat. Time Force needs good officers out there to help us clean up the streets and maintain control. What I'm offering each of you is full instatement into the Time Force criminal unit. Under Jen's leadership, the mutants won't have a chance against you," he said._

_"Will we have morphers?" Trip asked._

_I was embarrassed for him that he asked with such an eager tone in his voice, but all of us wanted to know. Hell, we'd all heard the rumors about four more morphers being created after a successful test run with the first one, and we all wanted the chance to become rangers._

_"No you will not. There is only one active Morpher in Time Force, and its mine. Granted, all of you are good, but you're still wet behind the years. Do you know how long I was in Time Force before they offered me the chance to work with the Chrono Morpher?" he paused. "All of you will be part of a special criminal investigation unit, if you choose to accept," he explained._

_"I'm in," Jen said eagerly, standing up, and then staring over at the rest of us._

_Lucas finally stopped picking with his hair and stood up. "Me too," he said._

_"I'll do it if Katie does," Trip said._

_I thought it was sweet that Trip was waiting to see what I'd do, but sometimes I wished he would make his own decisions. Ironically enough, if Trip had said no, I would have turned it down too._

_"I'll do it," I said._

_"Me too," Trip announced._

_"Then it's settled. The four of you will meet me here tomorrow morning at 0900 hours for briefing," the Commander said. "You're dismissed, but Ms. Scott, if you could stay for just a moment,"_

_The three of us stood up and headed out the office, leaving Jennifer alone with the commander._

_"You'd think they'd try to make it a little less obvious," Lucas said._

_"What?" Trip inquired._

_Leave it to Trip to be the last one to know._

_"Jen and the commander are… an item," I told him._

_"What makes you think so?"_

_"I thought you Xybrians could see stuff," Lucas brought up._

_"We can,"_

_Lucas rolled his eyes. "I'll see you and your green haired boyfriend tomorrow at the briefing," he sighed, walking away._

_"Why does he think we're together?" Trip asked._

Even I had to roll my eyes. "Come on Trip, let's go," I said, walking away.


	46. Chapter XLVI: Dreamscape pt 2

**Author's note: **This chapter contains portions of _End of Time pt. III_. Again, ff.net is screwing with my italics, so bare with me.

Trip sat in front of his computer in his personal quarters, closely examining the information he'd found. Granted, his computer wasn't as sophisticated as the equipment in the science lab, but he was able to establish a data link to the mainframe and download the information he needed.

So distracted in his work that he didn't hear Camille walk up behind him. She stood behind him, rubbing his shoulders slightly. Trip let out a sigh, leaning back slightly in his chair, but never taking his eyes off his work.

"You've been at this damn computer all night," she mentioned, frustrated by the fact that he didn't come to bed the night before.

Trip glanced over at the clock slightly, and then back to his work. "I had no idea it was so early. I'm sorry Cammy," he sighed.

Ever since Katie was injured, Trip had been in a world of his own. She knew how important Katie was to him, and respected the fact that he was going everything he could to help his friend. "Its okay baby, but staying up all night staring at this screen isn't healthy. You should try to get some rest," she insisted.

"I've been able to pull up some info on the Ethros," he brought up, ignoring her statement altogether. "They are humanoid, but with a some interesting differences. They're immune system works a lot differently than a human; instead of fighting off any dangerous infection that it may come into contact with, the Ethros absorb it, and their immune system produces its own antibody for it," he explained.

"That doesn't make any sense," she said.

"It makes perfect sense. Instead of just curing the individual being, the antibody will be encoded into their DNA, making it impossible for future generations to contract the virus. In theory, the Ethros could fight off every virus known to man and essentially life forever disease free," he said.

"That's incredible," she glanced over his shoulder, reading over his findings. "But how do we apply this to Katie?" she asked.

"In Katie's case, it isn't a virus she's fighting, its injuries. The Ethros are self-healing in the sense that they can force their cells to regenerate damaged tissue cells and internal organs. To do so takes extreme concentration, so much concentration that a human doctor may misconstrue their meditation as…" he was cut short.

"They were asleep," Camille said.

"Katie isn't waking up because she's meditating, trying to heal herself. From what I can tell, it's completely involuntary. When the Ethros are injured, they slip into an almost coma type state until their wounds are healed. While in this state, to ensure that brain patterns don't degrade, the mind produces images," he said.

"So she's dreaming?" she asked.

"Dr. Young did say there was a lot of rapid eye moment, and that her brain pattern was holding steady. Its only a matter of time before Katie snaps out of it herself," he told her.

"That's great,"

"There's a down side," he turned around, facing her. "Because Katie isn't completely human, her mind is unable to process the meditation correctly. Her human side may reject the healing, leaving her in her coma like state forever," he said.

"What can we do to help?"

"There isn't much we _can_ do. The average Ethros would have been healed by now, and the fact that Katie isn't scares me. If her human side rejects her healing process, she may be trapped in her dreams forever," Trip sighed.

(*)

The mood was a somber one as the four of his stood on the beach in front of the time ship. We had every reason to be happy about the situation; we'd captured Ransik, we'd saved the future, and now we were on our way back to our own time. Although for everyone else, it would only seem like we were gone a few days, for us, we'd spent almost a year in the past. We were all looking forward to coming home, to seeing our families, but it was a bittersweet moment.

Over the past year, we'd grown very fond of the 21st century, and of Wes, and none of us were eager to leave him behind. In fact, when Alex and Captain Logan ordered us to return the first time, we all decided that going back and fighting alongside Wes was the right thing to do. Alex wasn't happy about it, but ultimately, he knew he couldn't stop us. We headed back to the 21st century, changing history by helping Wes and Eric save the city. 

But with the city safe and history back on track, we knew it was time for us to go back. We all stood there, unsure of what to say, if there was anything we could say. Mr. Collins, Wes' father, and the Silver Guardians were present as well, all of them standing at attention.

Mr. Collins put his hand on Wes' shoulder as a show of support, and Wes walked over to Lucas, extending his hand to him.

"Better take it easy on that race track Lucas," he said.

"Well, at least now I have a drivers liscense," Lucas mumbled.

The two of them wrapped their arms around one another before Lucas walked away, disappearing into a stream of light.

Finally, I couldn't hold it in anymore. I rushed over to Wes, wrapping my arms around him. "Wes… you're the best," I cried.

"Katie…let go," he mumbled.

I glanced up, realizing that I was squeezing him a little too tightly. I backed away slowly, a little frustrated with myself for not knowing my own strength… again. "I'm sorry," I sighed.

Wes looked at me with his beautiful blue eyes, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me close. "No, don't be sorry. I'm actually gonna miss your hugs," he told me.

"Goodbye Wes," I mumbled, heading for the ship, disappearing into the light.

I materialized on the ship, where Lucas was already prepping the ship for launch. I quickly took my seat on the control panel.

"Do you think we'll ever get to come back? To see Wes again?" I asked him.

"I doubt it, but at least now we know he'll be okay," he told me.

(*)

Jen and Tommy walked into the medical bay hand in hand, making their way towards Katie. Dr. Young was standing next to the examining table, reading over the charts on his clipboard, comparing them to the readings on the machines next to the bed.

"How's she doing doc?" Tommy asked her.

"The regeneration process is over 94% complete, but I still can't account for the coma like state she's is. It goes against everything I've ever learned about medicine," he said.

"Have you been able to contact any of her family? They might have an idea as to what's happening to her," Jen brought up.

"I sent a sub-space communication, but no one has gotten back to me yet. Even if they did, the situation is out of my hands now. There's nothing more I can do for now except make her comfortable and hope she comes around on her own," he explained.

The two of them walked over to Jen, each standing on either side of her as Dr. Young excused himself.

"Come on Katie, you have to snap out of this. Please," Jen sighed, putting her hand gently on Katie's forehead, brushing her hair away from her face. "I know you Katie, you're a fighter, and I know you're not going to let this beat you," she sighed.

"Yeah, and you still owe me a rematch in arm wrestling," Tommy sighed.

"Come on, we have to report to the admiral at 1400 hours. He's going to give us an update on the science lab," she mentioned.

Tommy leaned down, kissing Katie gently on the forehead before he and Jen walked out the room together.

(*)

_"Oh no," Ransik sighed as the pressure began to suck everything through the hole. He quickly dived for the hole, trying to block it. "I can't hold it forever rangers, finish this," he screamed._

_Nadira, the white ranger and I teamed up on Zedd with a triple tornado kick, knocking his staff out his hand. Tommy would caught it, then aimed it at Lord Zedd and fired it. That was enough to knock Zedd against the wall, falling to his knees._

_Camille hurried over to the only functioning control panel, going over the readings. She turned up one of the active modules, opening the door as a lifeless mutant fell out. "Get'em in the tube," she screamed to the others._

_It was the white and gold rangers who got the message, hitting a double spin kick and knocking Zedd into the module. As soon as he was in, the blue ranger closed the door and activated the module, trapping Zedd inside._

_"What are you doing?" Tommy asked._

_"Giving Zedd a taste of his own medicine," she said as the machine lit up, sucking the life out of him._

_"So that's it, it's over," Nadira sighed with relief._

_We all let out a sigh of relief, thinking the worst was over. I glanced over at Ransik, who was struggling to keep the hole in the ship sealed. "Goodbye rangers," Ransik mumbled as he was ripped in half by the pressure, sucking him through the hole in the ship._

_"NOOOO!" I yelled as I jumped through the hole, going after him._

_I managed to grab hold of Ransik's upper body as we both fell. It was all happening so fast, I didn't have much time to react. I looked down, and luckily we were over water, but it wasn't going to matter. The speed we were falling at was too much, and as I hit the water, I hit my head on a piece of debris from the ship, and I sank to the bottom………_

_~_

"NOOOO!" Katie yelled at the top of her lungs as she sat up on the examining table, covered in a cold sweat.

She glanced around the room, discovering that she was in the medical lab. She took a deep breath, wiping the sweat away from her eyes as she slid off the table. As soon as she did, her knees gave out, and she fell to the ground.

Dr. Young hurried in the room, helping her back onto the examining table. "Your body is still adjusting, you have to give yourself some time," he said.

"What happened?" she mumbled.

"Whats the last thing you remember?"

She paused, gathering her thoughts. "I was on Zedd's ship, and Ransik got pulled through a hole in the side of the…" she paused. "Where is Ransik?" she inquired.

"I'm sorry," he sighed.

"Just tell me where he is," she snapped, trying to sit up.

"I'm afraid is didn't…" he was cut short.

"No, its not true. That was just a dream, right? Ransik is fine. Where is he?" she screamed.

"It wasn't a dream Katie," a voice said. She turned around as Trip walked into the room with a somber look on his face. "Ransik gave his life to save us Katie, he did what he had to do," he told her.

"It's not true," she screamed.

"I'm sorry Katie," Trip said, walking over to her.

She didn't say a word. Instead, she wrapped her arms around him, crying on his shoulder as he held her. "I loved him Trip," she cried.

"I know Katie, I know,"


	47. Chapter XLVII: Birthright

"Commander Collins," a voice said.

Alex opened his eyes slowly, only to find himself in his quarters. He sat up slowly, wiping his eyes, then saw _her_ standing at the edge of the bed. "What the hell…" he paused. "Admiral Summers?" he mumbled, noticing she was wearing a Time Force uniform.

"Not quite, I'm a holographic projection of Admiral Summers," she said.

Alex picked up his pillow and threw it at her, watching it go through her and fall to the floor. "That's a nice trick," he said.

"Have you been in contact with Captain Scott today?" she inquired, getting down to business.

"No," he slid out of bed, wrapping his housecoat around himself. "Why?"

"She'll be going on a mission shortly, a mission that will alter the course of history," she said.

"Must be important if you came all the way from the future to warn me," he mentioned.

"I assure you, it is. It is imperative that history take its natural course,"

"I understand. I'll talk to Admiral Logan and have him stop her from going…" he was cut short.

"No, she must go in order for time to go smoothly. You see Commander, Jennifer is destined to die in the year 2015,"

"What?" he walked towards her. "No, I refuse. I'll stop her," he screamed.

"I'm afraid it is out of your hands Commander. I'm aware of your feelings for her, but this is how it must be. To prevent her death will cause the death of countless billions," she said.

"Someone told me once that we make our own destinies, and if I have to weigh Jen's life against the lives of people who haven't even been born yet, I saw its an acceptable lose," he informed her.

"Jen's death will ensure that Time Force is founded, and that _you_ will be born. I implore you Alexander, you must allow time to progress as it was intended to," she explained.

He sighed. "If I have to sacrifice my life to save Jen, so be it," Alex said, standing firm in his decision.

"You still don't understand Commander. Your life isn't the only one at stake. Countless generations of people will be effected, billions will cease to exist, Time Force as you know it will crumble and anarchy will reign," she told him.

"That's the key word, Time Force _as I know it._ Generations will cease to exist, but other generations will take their place, and the Time Force I know it could use some improvements. Saving Jen's life is worth the risk," he told her.

"Frankly Commander, that isn't your decision to make. I appreciate your feelings in the matter, but you have your orders. Jen will be allowed to travel to the past where she will die. Do I make myself clear?" she asked.

"Permission to speak freely Admiral," he requested.

"Permission denied. You will follow my orders to the letter or I'll have you relieved of your command. Do I make myself clear?" she repeated.

"Yes ma'am," 

(*)

There was a time in her life when she was convinced that Alexander Collins was the only man for her. He was intelligent, warm hearted and very passionate about what he did. There was something about him, something that drew her to him, something she couldn't resist. While he trained her in the academy, she tried to believe that it was simply a crush on a superior officer, but it grew into something much more. Soon, they were dating, and once she graduated from the academy, they were inseparable.

Suddenly, Alex' new assignment kept him away from her. He became obsessed with capturing Ransik, and she did her best to understand. Captain Logan assigned her to a small mobile unit to assist Alex, but his duties still kept him busy. Alex had been giving the experimental Chrono Morpher, which endowed him with superhuman powers. There were times when she envied him, being the first to test the Morpher. During her academy days, PR101 was a required class, so she was more than familiar with the legacy of the Power Rangers. Now, Alex was a part of that legacy, and she wanted nothing more than to be a part of it as well.

After a while, Alex' obsession with Ransik was overshadowed by his newfound power. They began to spend less and less time together, until eventually, the only time they saw one another was during a duty shift. Things were looking bad for them, but then it happened… Alex managed to capture Ransik.

During the trial, Alex proposed to her. It was sudden, but she knew that it would be a new beginning for them, and that they'd be able to spend a lot more time together. Things were going well… but Ransik escaped.

And the worst part, he escaped under _her_ supervision.

Needless to say Captain Logan was pissed, and things went from bad to worse as Alex was reassigned to capturing Ransik. She took her small unit and surrounded a warehouse on the south side of Silver Hills. Alex went in after him, but was seriously injured in the process. With his "last breath", she told her to go after Ransik and capture him at all costs. Alex told her where to find the other Chrono morphers, and she and her unit traveled into the past to capture Ransik.

That's when things got really complicated…

In the past, she met Wesley Collins, who looked exactly like Alex in every way. Wes joined her unit and promised to do whatever he could to help them find and capture Ransik once and for all. During the months they spent together, she and Wes grew closer… and closer. Soon, she found herself thinking more of Wes, and a lot less of Alex. She was falling in love with him, but there were complications. Wes was from the 21st century, and regardless to if her mission failed or not, she would have to return to her own time, leaving him behind. Things took another bizarre turn when Alex traveled to the past, warning her of shifts in the time line, forcing her to question her feelings for both Alex and Wes.

Ultimately, she told Alex she heart belonged to someone else, and as expected, he didn't take it very well. 

When she did return to the 31st century, things between she and Alex were awkward. They rarely spoke to one another, and during meetings, there was so much tension between them that the entire room could feel it. It took a while, but the two of them eventually found a way to be civil to one another. Things between them were getting better, and they were even able to go out of the occasion date, but things took an even more bizarre turn.

_He_ came into the picture.

Suddenly, she found herself thinking about Tommy Oliver. There was something about him that commanded respect, yet he was humble. He was a skilled fighter, a loyal friend, and the most experienced ranger in history. She tried to tell herself that it was hero envy, that after reading about Tommy, she had come admire him. She tried to convince herself that it was no more than that, but failed horribly. It was the first time in a long time that she was able to express her feelings for someone, and know they could express their feelings in return. With Alex, she couldn't do that. With Wes, even though he wanted to, they couldn't. This time was different; over the last few months she'd come to adore Tommy Oliver, and she was convinced he felt the same way.

She rolled over in the bed, resting her head on his chest. It had been so long, she'd almost forgotten what it was like to lay in the arms of a man. Ever since they finally confessed their feelings for one another, they'd be inseparable. They went to the café every morning, sometimes with Trip and Camille, but most times alone. With the extra time off from work, they found _other_ ways to entertainment one another, and in the evening, they visited Katie in the medical bay, waiting to hear something about her condition.

It was the first time in her life that she didn't have a care in the world. She and Tommy were together, she'd gotten a promotion at work, and things were finally falling into place for her.

_'Logan to Captain Scott. Respond,'_ she heard a voice say.

She reluctantly reached for her Morpher on the nightstand, pushing the button. "Yes Admiral?"

_'I hate to interrupt, but I was hoping you and Lt. Oliver could join us in the science lab. I think there's something here you need to see,'_ he said.

"We're on the way sir," she sighed, putting her Morpher on her wrist.

No sooner than she sat up did Tommy open his eyes. "Good morning," he sighed, smiling warmly at her.

"Good morning to you too Lt. Oliver," she said.

"Oh, we're playing _that_ again. Is this the part where you call me into your office and…" he was cut short.

"No, duty calls. The admiral wants us in the science lab," she said.

"Is that an order?"

She leaned over, kissing him warmly on the lips. "Follow my orders Lt. or I'll have to tie you up again," she whispered.

"If I _do_ follow your orders, you will still tie me up?" he asked with a devilish grin.

"Count on it," Jen sighed.

(*)

Tommy and Jen walked into the science lab, where Admiral Logan was standing in front of the control panel along with Camille and Trip.

"Glad to see you could join us Mr. And Mrs. Oliver," Camille said.

"Very funny," Tommy sighed.

"I thought so too,"

"So whats going on?" Jen asked as they headed over to the controls, getting a good look at the readings.

"We were able to re-initialize primary power to the science lab yesterday, but the slipstream itself is still off line. When we restored power, we found that there was a distress call being repeated on every frequency," Trip said.

"A distress call? From where?" Jen asked.

"Not from where, from _when_? According to our readings, it originated in the year 2010. Silver Hills, California," Camille said.

"Well, lets see it," she said.

The screen blinked on, and an image of Wes appeared on the screen. Although there were some minor differences. At first glance, he looked to have put on a few pounds, but wore it well. The most noticeable difference was the fact that he now had a full beard and mustache. _"Guys, this is Wes. Do you read me? I've got a situation here and I'm going to need some serious back up. Eric has been injured, and the city has been over run by cyborgs. With Eric down and most of the Silver Guardians altered, we're running out of options. We need help, and fast…"_

"Is that all the message says?" Jen asked.

"It stops right there and repeats over and over," Camille told her.

"Have you been able to determine what's going on?" Tommy inquired.

"No, we can only research the history logs for information, but there is nothing in the logs about how the cyborgs came into existence or who is responsible for them," the Admiral brought up.

"Which means there's an outside influence at work. Maybe someone from another time line has trying to change the past," Trip added.

"We have to go to the 21st century and do what we can to help. If we don't, the present will be effected as well," Jen said.

"We can't risk sending you back in time captain, it could do more harm than good. We need to focus on what's going on here and now before we can solve Wes' problems too," Admiral Logan said.

"If these cyborg things beat him, the future will change, and Wes' problems will be _our_ problems. That's why we have to stop it in the past before it gets too far out of hand," Tommy mentioned.

"I agree," Jen said.

"Trip, Camille, the two of you should stay here and work on the slipstream. See if you can get it back on line, we may need it. Admiral, have Lt. Emery meet us in shuttle bay four and prep the time ship for launch," Tommy instructed.

"We should take Adam with us too," she suggested.

"Agreed. Can you have him meet us in five minutes Camille?" he asked.

"Consider it done Tommy," she said.

(*)

Adam sat across from Katie in the medical bay as she leaned up against the wall. Her hair covered her face as she rocked back and forth.

He wanted to say something to her, to comfort her, but wasn't sure how. _'I can't imagine what it must have been like to see him killed like that,'_ he thought to himself. He knew it would be insulting to tell her he understood, or to lie to her and say he understood. The fact it, he could _never_ understand it. 

"She's been like that for a few days now," Dr. Young said as he walked in, making his way towards Adam.

"What's wrong with her?"

"I've been able to do some more research on the Ethros. Apparently, her Ethros half was responsible for her healing so fast, but her human side can't handle it. The human body isn't suppose to heal so rapidly, and the results are her losing a grasp of reality," he said.

"What do you mean?"

"She insists that Ransik's death was just a dream, that he's coming back for her,"

"I don't think that has anything to do with her being half Ethros. Its human to be in denial about a tragic moment in your life," he brought up.

"Perhaps, but until she snaps out of it, she won't be able to return to work. She'll have to remain here so I can run some tests," Dr. Young told him.

"I understand,"

_'Camille to Adam. Come in,'_ a voice said.

Adam reached for his morpher. "I'm here Camille, what is it?"

_'The captain wants you to meet her in the shuttle bay, it's important,' _she said.

"I'm on it," he turned to the doctor. "Just keep me updated on her situation," he said.

"No problem."

He turned to Katie. "You'll get through this Katie, I know it," Adam said, walking out the room.

~

He walked into the main shuttle bay, where Lt. Emery was already in the time ship preparing the shuttle for launch. Adam stepped into the ship, amazed at the design.

"What's up James?" he inquired.

"I'm not sure. Captain Scott wanted us to meet her here. My orders were to prep the ship, but she didn't give me the coordinates. I don't know where to send the ship," he told them.

"That's because you're not going," they heard a voice say. They turned around as Tommy and Jen walked into the ship.

"What do you mean?"

"Tommy, Adam and I are going on a mission, but I need you to stay here and make sure that things in the lab go smoothly," Jen told him.

"So… I'm in charge while you're gone?" he inquired.

She paused. "Yeah, assume control until I return. I'm counting on you Lt. Emery," she said firmly, playing along.

"You can count on me ma'am," he said eagerly, exiting the ship.

"Poor guy," Adam giggled.

"He just wants to do his best," Jen mentioned.

"Yeah, but did he have to drink 12 cups of coffee beforehand? That guy really needs to calm down," he said.

"So where _are_ we going?"

"We received a distress call from the year 2015. We're going there to do what we can to help," Jen told him.

_'Tanya,'_ he thought to himself.

The thought of being able to see here again gave him an ambivalent sense. Part of him wanted to see her again, _needed_ to see her again, but he knew it would only complicate things. Seeing her again would bring up a lot of questions he wasn't in a position to answer, and it would stir up emotions that he'd finally been able to control. Seeing her again would complicate his life.

"What do we know about the situation?" he inquired.

"According to the distress call, the city of Silver Hills has been taken over my cyborgs and the Quantum Ranger is injured. That's all we know. The moment we get there, we'll switch on the cloaks and access the situation, then go from there," she instructed.

"Sounds like a plan," Tommy said, taking his seat in front of the controls. "Time circuits are on line and coordinates are set,"

"Confirmed, coordinates set and locked," Jen said, taking her seat across from him. 

Adam sat down, buckling his seatbelt.

~

Outside the shuttle bay, Alex watched from a careful distance as the docking bay doors opened and the ship lifted off the ground. "Goodbye Jennifer," he sighed reluctantly as the ship took off, disappearing into a time hole.


	48. Chapter XLVIII: Birthright pt 2

The ship touched down near the shore along the beach. Jen initiated the landing protocols, then headed for the exit. The three of them stepped off the ship, getting a good look at their surroundings. Jen was the only one who recognized it.

"This is where…" she paused, recalling it was that exact spot where she told Wes she loved him for the first time, but was sure Tommy didn't want to hear about it. "… where the Silver Guardians stood when the others and I went back to the year 3000," she said.

Tommy noticed that Jen wanted to say more but didn't, and decided not to say anything about it… yet. "Its pretty late, we should try to find Wes and the others," he said.

"Agreed," she turned to Adam. "I want you to scout ahead and see what you can find. Check in in exactly one hour," she ordered.

"I'm on it," he said, switching on his cloak. He disappeared, but Tommy and Jen were able to see his footprints in the sand as he rushed away.

"Looks like the sun will be up soon, we should…" he paused as, in the distance, he saw _someone_ walking towards them. "You expecting company?" he asked.

Jen tried to get a good look at him. "It looks like a Silver Guardian. I recognize the uniform," she mentioned.

The two of them walked towards him, but the closer they got, they realized someone was wrong. It was a Silver Guardian, but he had been changed. There were metal parts covering the side of his face, and one of his hands had been replaced with a blade.

"What the…"

Just then, the guardian attacked them, rushing at Jen with his blade. She was able to avoid being cut, doing a back flip and landing on his shoulders. She wrapped her legs around his head and flipped over, taking him down.

As she got back to her feet, several more guardians came over the hill, charging towards them, each of them altered a little differently.

"Guess the 'Welcome back' banner is out the question," Jen mentioned.

"I was really hoping for a parade or something," he sighed sarcastically.

Soon, there was over a dozen guardians, all of them attacking at once. Tommy caught one of them with a roundhouse kick, but four more grabbed him, tackling him to the ground. Jen tried to help, but was overwhelmed as well.

One of the guardians reached for a disrupter weapon and aimed at Tommy, but at that moment, the red ranger appeared from out of nowhere, kicking the weapon out his hand. The red ranger caught the weapon and fired, taking the guardian down. The remaining guardians who held Tommy and Jen down made their move, but the red ranger was able to take all of them down, hitting a tornado kick knocking all of them out cold. One guardian remained, but ran off to save himself.

With the guardians gone, Jen and Tommy turned their attention to the red ranger. "Thanks for the help, we were…" she was cut short.

"In deep shit before I showed up," the red ranger said rudely.

Jen paused. "Wes? Are you okay?" she inquired.

The red ranger powered down, revealing a woman. She was a bit shorter than Jen, but had long brownish-blonde hair with a slight red streak. She was a red cut off shirt, exposing most of her stomach, and a pair of black jeans. Jen noticed a huge scar on the side of the girl's face, but tried not to stare.

"Do I look like Wes to you?" she snapped.

Jen took a moment to gather her thoughts, but it was Tommy who took a step forward. "Trinity?" he inquired.

Trinity turned to him. "Do you know me?"

"Yes. I'm…" he paused, waiting before he said anything to would regret. He was unsure if Kimberly and Wes had told her about her origins, and didn't want to risk telling her. "I'm from Time Force," he said.

"About time you got here, Wes called you a week ago," she said.

"We had complications in our own time, but we came as soon as we could. What happened here and where is your father?" Jen asked.

"My _step­_-father," she corrected. "Wes was captured by cyborgs almost a three days ago. Not that it's any of your concerns. I suggest you get back in your ship and go back to your own time. We'll handle things here," she told them.

Tommy took a step forward. "But we're here to help you,"

"And we don't need your help. If it wasn't for Time Force, we wouldn't be in this situation in the first place," she aimed the disrupter at Tommy. "Now leave," she told him.

The warm disposition on Tommy's face quickly changed. Now, he was angry. "What the hell is your problem? We just…"

Jen grabbed his arm, pulling him back. "Come on, let's go," she told him.

Tommy watched as Trinity turned his back on him, heading over the hill she came from. "Are you okay?" Jen asked him.

He remained silent.

"Come on Tommy, what's wrong? What is it?" she asked.

"Trinity…" he paused. "Is my daughter," he sighed.

(*)

Trinity ducked down behind a dumpster, hiding from a group of altered Silver Guardians, waiting until the coast was clear. About fifty feet away was her destination, an abandoned warehouse, the entire area was crawling with cyborgs.

One of the guardians glanced her away, but she ducked down a little lower until he was gone. As soon as all the guardians left the area, she raw towards the warehouse, sneaking inside. The warehouse itself had been abandoned for years, and the only things in it were empty containers and spare parts scattered around the room. She headed to the back of the room, placing her hand on a small panel in the corner. As soon as she did, an entrance in the wall opened up, and she walked inside.

Once the entrance closed itself, she walked down the hall and into a room, where there were computers set up against the wall. With a sigh, she set his disrupter on the table and sat down.

The weight of the situation was beginning to get to her, and it was more than she could handle. _'The only thing I should be worried about is if my boyfriend really likes me or not, or finishing my homework in time to go to party, not saving the world,'_ she thought to herself. As a child, her mother often told her how she was forced to grow up early in life, that her obligations as a power ranger took priority over the things she wanted to do. At the time, the thought of having super human strength and powers were appealing, but now that she had them, she wanted nothing else to do with it.

The only problem was, she couldn't stop.

_'If I do, the world will be destroyed. They'll turn mom and Wes into one of those… things,'_ she thought. The thought of losing them haunted her, forcing her to go on. She recalled her mother telling her that being a ranger cost her father his life, and she was determined to make sure it didn't happen to anyone else she loved.

"Hey," a voice said. Her thoughts were broken as she turned around, seeing _him_ walk in the room. He sat down across from her, sliding her a bottle. "How'd it go out there?"

For a long as she could remember, Theo had been her best friend. The two of them had been through some tough times together.

"I tried to get into Bio-Lab, but it was too heavily guarded," she told him.

"I keep trying to tell you that Morpher doesn't make you invincible, you have to be more careful," he said.

"I know," she sighed, taking a swallow of her pop. "On my way back, I saw a group of Time Force rangers,"

He stood up. "Really? Where?"

"Along the shore just over the hills. They said they got our distress call," she said.

"Well where are they?"

"I told them to go back to their own damn time," Trinity snapped.

"Why the hell did you do that? Damn it Trinity, we need all the help we can get, and the Time Force rangers would have…"

She stood up. "They're the reason we're in this mess to begin with. If it weren't for them, those damn cyborgs wouldn't even be here. Do I have to remind you what they did to Eric, that they captured Wes and they've been turning the Silver Guardians into those robotic assholes? We didn't ask for this, and its all their…"

"Save the sob story Trinity, it doesn't matter whose fault it is anymore. Get a grip on this: this is now and here we are, and the more help we have to stop those cyborgs the better," Theo snapped.

"Its easy for you to say, your parents are safe and sound at home. My father lost his life fighting, my mother was hurt fighting these things, and now they're doing God-knows-what to Wes in there. Everyone I ever cared about is either injured or dead, and its those self-righteous Time Force bastards are responsible," she explained.

"Stop feeling sorry for yourself and blaming Time Force for everything. Yes, my parents _are_ waiting for me at home, but only because both of them were once rangers and they knew what they had to do to protect the Earth. My mom lost a lot of friends when she was ranger too, it goes with a territory. We didn't ask for this, but like it not, we're the only chance this city has. Now are you going to play the blame game, or are you going to help me?" Theo asked her.

She cracked a smile. "I hate it when you're right," she sighed.

"Get use to it, it happens a lot,"

"Whatever,"

"I'm going down to the infirmary to check on Eric, he isn't doing very well. Gaby thinks he isn't going to last another night," he told her.

"Let me know how he's doing. I'm going to try to get our sensors back on line," she mentioned.

Theo nodded, walking out the room.

(*)

Adam stood outside her house, debating on whether or not to go inside and see her. With the enhanced cloak in his Morpher, it wouldn't take much effort to simply walk through the wall and check on her, but something was holding him back.

Part of him wanted to see her, to see how she was doing. After he arrived in the future, he reviewed the history logs and found out that she went crazy looking for him. Although he knew there was nothing he could do about it, he felt guilty for putting her through that. Still, she wasn't the only one who was hurt by the incident.

To him, it had only been a few weeks. The thought of being without her hurt him; especially considering how long it took the two of them to tell one another how they felt. _'We wasted a lot of time hiding our feelings,'_ he thought to himself. Still, he had to consider that, from her standpoint, it had been _years_ since it happened, so she no doubt had much longer to dwell on her lose.

Finally, he reached for his Morpher and switched on the cloaking device, making his way towards the house. He found it ironic that after almost 20 years, her house looked exactly the same. He walked through the wall and into the livingroom, but there was no one in sight. On the wall were pictures of the two of them together, along with the other rangers. The thought of her keeping those pictures after all that time was enough to make him crack a smile.

In the distance, he heard a loud crash.

_'That's coming from the basement,'_ he thought to himself, reaching for his Morpher and adjusting it one more time, allowing him to fall through the floor and into the basement.

As soon as he got down there, he saw Tanya trapped in a corner, being surrounded by a group of people. At first glance, they appeared to be Silver Guardians, but judging by the look of panic on Tanya's face, she wasn't happy to see them.

One of the guardians reached for a disrupter pistol and aimed at her.

_'TIME FOR, TIME FORCE,'_ Adam called out, disengaging the cloak and transforming into the black ranger.

He grabbed two of the guardians, throwing them across the room and up against the wall. Another one charged at him, but he ducked, then hit a sweep, taking him down. A guardian snuck up behind him, but it was Tanya who picked up a lamp, hitting him in the back of the head. With one more guardian left, Tanya picked up the disrupter pistol and fired, shooting him in the chest.

"Am I saving you, or the other way around?" he asked her.

"Lets call it even," she paused. "Who are you? Where did you come from?" she inquired.

"Lets just say I'm a friend, and I'm here to help. Why were the Silver Guardians after you?" he replied.

"They're not guardians, at least not anymore. They've been changed by Gerrock," she told him.

"Gerrock?"

"General Gerrock of the Machine Empire. Hes here, on Earth," she said.

"I remember them. Didn't we…" he paused, choosing his words carefully. "Didn't the zeo rangers defeat the Machine Empire over 20 years ago?" he asked.

"Yes, but some of the generals survived. They launched an attack on Earth a few years later, but a group of red rangers were able to stop him. Now, Gerrock is the last surviving member of the Machine Empire and he plans to take over the planet," she explained.

"By turning the Silver Guardians into robots?"

"No, cyborgs," a voice said. The black ranger turned around as _he_ walked down the stairs, rushing over to Tanya. "Are you okay?" he asked, wrapping his arm around her.

"Yes, thanks to my friend here," she said.

He turned to the black ranger. "Thank you, for everything. I'm TJ," he introduced, extending his hand to him.

The two of them shook.

"Its no problem,"

There was something about the voice, something Tanya recognized, something familiar. Still, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't place the voice.

"What can we do to repay you?"

"Its not necessary," he paused, getting a good look at how the two of them were holding one another. "Are the two of you…" he was cut short.

Tanya held up her hand, revealing her ring. "Happily married for seven years now. Our anniversary is coming, but we've got our hands full with General Gerrock," she said proudly.

His heart sank. He tried to say something; he _wanted_ to say something, but what? "If you need me, I'll be around," he said as he engaged the cloak, then walked through the wall.

"Who was that guy?" TJ asked.

"I don't know," Tanya sighed.

(*)

"What the hell is going on? And why did Trinity say what was happening was our fault?" Jen asked as she paced back and forth in the time ship.

Tommy had other things on his mind. He recalled traveling to the past to check on his daughter, only to discover that his wife was remarried, and was living happily. Part of him was upset with Wes for stepping in like that, but he _did_ ask Wes to take care of Kimberly for him. Seeing Trinity as a child warmed his heart, but now, almost 15 years later, she was a completely different person. She was cold, spiteful, vengeful…

"Tommy?" Jen called out, finally breaking his consentration.

"Oh, what is it Jen?"

"Whats on your mind? I've been calling you for the last ten minutes,"

"I'm just thinking about Trinity," he sighed.

"I wonder how she got the red chrono Morpher to work for her. It was encoded to Wes' DNA, and since we know they aren't related, it shouldn't be active," she mentioned.

_'I have a theory,'_ a voice said.

Jen reached for her Morpher. "I knew you would sooner or later. What can you tell me Camille?" she asked her.

_'I've been doing some reading on that time frame. After Tommy and the other red rangers defeated the Machine Empire on the moon, one of the surviving generals found his way to Earth. A small research found him after he crash landed on Earth and spent years trying to repair him. Because of "other projects" they'd been working on, they were able to repair and re-activate him,'_ he explained.

"And the general turned on them, right?"

_'Yeah, but it's a little more complex than that. The same company that repaired the general also found the remains of another robot years before that, it is was their research on that robot that allowed them to repair the general,'_ she said.

"Another robot? Which one?"

_'Frax,'_ she told them.

"But Frax was destroyed," Jen pointed out.

_'Yes he was, but he memory core was still functional. After both Frax and General Gerrock were revived, they launched an all out assault on the city. They were successful in capturing and altering Silver Guardians, changing them into half human, half machine drones. According to the logs, most of the city has been altered thanks to them,'_ she explained.

"And with Wes and Eric captured or hurt, Trinity had to step in as the red ranger," Tommy added.

_'Exactly. Because of the work Bio-Lab did with the Quantum Morpher, they were able to reset the red chrono Morpher, allowing Trinity to use it. There are other former rangers scattered throughout the city doing what they can to help, but its been a losing battle. I read ahead in the logs, and unless something happens within the next 36 hours, the entire city will be converted into cyborgs,'_ she told them.

"What can we do? If there really are _that_ many, there's no way we can take them all out," he mentioned.

"Besides, they're still human. We don't want to destroy them if we don't have to," Jen pointed out.

_'Trip and I have a theory that if the main generator that controlled the cyborgs were shut down, the people would regain their memory and be able to fight against Frax and General Gerrock,'_ she said.

"Great, all we have to do is find the generator and shut it down. How hard can that be?" she asked.

_'Remember, Frax is from the year 3000 as well, so his defenses will be a lot tougher to get into than you think. I'm sure the generation has heavy security, not be mention defense protocols built into the circuitry to prevent anyone from tampering with it,'_ she said.

"Can't we just destroy it?"

_'Jen, this is Trip again. We thought about just destroying the generator, but it has secondary backup modules to prevent that. To take out the generator and all the backups, it would take an explosion large enough to take out the entire building,'_ he said.

"Fine, send us what we need," Jen said.

_'It isn't that simple. The explosives would have to detonated manually, which means someone would have to stay with the bomb to ensure that failsafe protocols didn't deactivate it,'_ he said.

"You're saying one of us has to die," Tommy sighed.

_'I'm afraid so,'_ he sighed.


	49. Chapter XLIX: Birthright pt 3

**Author's note: **On June 6th, there was a problem at fanfiction.net and all the reviews for chapter 48 were deleted. Some of you have reposted your reviews, and I appreciate that. We're also approaching **200 **reviews for Parallels, and to celebrate, there's going to be a huge crossover event. I'm debating whether or not to make it part of the series, or to have it separate from the series but still part of the PR universe. R&R.

Gaby appears courtesy of Cmar!

~

Alex stood in the doorway of the science lab as Camille and Trip continued with their work. He couldn't help but admire them; they'd achieved what most couples can only dream of: the ability to work together smoothly without it interfering with their personal relationship.

He recalled being with Jen, and how it was always a conflict of interest. He was her commanding officer and she was his subordinate. Although she never said anything, there was always a slight tension between them because of it. 

That wasn't the case with Trip and Camille, the two of them seemed to have a continuity to them that be envied. _'My relationship with Jen may have worked if we had been more like them,'_ he thought.

"What did you find?" Trip asked, turning to her.

"I've been reading up on the history logs and I've determined that a high level explosive, maybe a cobolt device with high density would be enough to take out that generator," she said.

"Cobolt? That could take out half a city block. Don't you think that's overkill?" he asked.

She shook her head. "It's the only way to make sure the secondary modules don't activate themselves. Trust me, I've done the math, this is the only way," she sighed.

"Open a channel to Jen," he said.

Camille reached over to another control panel, inputting a sequence of numbers. "Open," she said.

"I wonder how she got the red chrono Morpher to work for her. It was encoded to Wes' DNA, and since we know they aren't related, it shouldn't be active," a voice said.

"I have a theory," Camille said, talking into the speaker.

_'I knew you would sooner or later. What can you tell me Camille?'_ she asked her.

"I've been doing some reading on that time frame. After Tommy and the other red rangers defeated the Machine Empire on the moon, one of the surviving generals found his way to Earth. A small research found him after he crash landed on Earth and spent years trying to repair him. Because of "other projects" they'd been working on, they were able to repair and re-activate him," Trip explained.

_'And the general turned on them, right?'_

"Yeah, but it's a little more complex than that. The same company that repaired the general also found the remains of another robot years before that, it is was their research on that robot that allowed them to repair the general," she said.

_"Another robot? Which one?" _Jen asked.

"Frax," she told her.

_'But Frax was destroyed,' _she pointed out.

"Yes he was, but he memory core was still functional. After both Frax and General Gerrock were revived, they launched an all out assault on the city. They were successful in capturing and altering Silver Guardians, changing them into half human, half machine drones. According to the logs, most of the city has been altered thanks to them," Camille explained.

_'And with Wes and Eric captured or hurt, Trinity had to step in as the red ranger,'_ Tommy added.

"Exactly. Because of the work Bio-Lab did with the Quantum Morpher, they were able to reset the red chrono Morpher, allowing Trinity to use it. There are other former rangers scattered throughout the city doing what they can to help, but its been a losing battle. I read ahead in the logs, and unless something happens within the next 36 hours, the entire city will be converted into cyborgs," she told them.

_'What can we do? If there really are that many, there's no way we can take them all out,'_ he mentioned.

_'Besides, they're still human. We don't want to destroy them if we don't have to,'_ Jen pointed out.

"Trip and I have a theory that if the main generator that controlled the cyborgs were shut down, the people would regain their memory and be able to fight against Frax and General Gerrock," she said.

_'Great, all we have to do is find the generator and shut it down. How hard can that be?'_ she asked.

"Remember, Frax is from the year 3000 as well, so his defenses will be a lot tougher to get into than you think. I'm sure the generation has heavy security, not be mention defense protocols built into the circuitry to prevent anyone from tampering with it," she said.

_"Can't we just destroy it?" _she asked.

"Jen, this is Trip again. We thought about just destroying the generator, but it has secondary backup modules to prevent that. To take out the generator and all the backups, it would take an explosion large enough to take out the entire building," he said.

_'Fine, send us what we need,'_ Jen said.

"It isn't that simple. The explosives would have to detonated manually, which means someone would have to stay with the bomb to ensure that failsafe protocols didn't deactivate it," he said.

_'You're saying one of us has to die,'_ Tommy sighed.

"I'm afraid so," he sighed.

_'The two of you find a way to get us the explosives. We'll worry about everything else when the time comes. Jen out,'_ she said.

"Channel closed," Camille said.

"The slipstream is still down, so we'll have to send someone in a time ship with the explosive," he said.

"I'll go," they heard a voice say.

They turned around as they saw Alex standing in the doorway.

"How long have you been there?" Camille asked.

"Long enough to know that someone has to die in order to save the past. I intend to use the cobolt device myself," he said.

"What part of _'you'll be killed'_ aren't you getting?" Trip asked.

Alex walked over to them, taking off his deeply tinted sunglasses. "I haven't always been honest with you guys, and there were times when it was the right thing to do, but this time isn't one of them," he paused. "I was contacted by Admiral Summers today. She told me that Jen was going to die in the year 2015," he said.

"What?"

"I'm assuming that Jen will decide to activate the cobolt device herself to save the city, but I intend to stop her," he told them.

"Aren't you running the risk of altering history?" she asked.

"If it will save Jen's life, so be it," Alex said.

Camille stood up. "I'll get you what you need. Meet me in shuttle bay seven in twenty minutes," she said.

"Thank you Camille," he sighed, walking out the room.

(*)

Eric opened his eyes slowly, but his vision was blurry. All he could see were blurred images, and the more he tried, the more his head began to pound. Finally, he let out a frustrated sigh, doing his best to roll over. He fell off what he could only assume was an examining table, trying to get back to his feet.

His ribs ached, his head pounded, and his knees were weak. He managed to get back to his feet, but as he stood up straight, his legs gave out and he fell.

He wasn't sure who, but someone caught him from hitting the ground, helping him back onto the examining table.

"Who…" he tried to mumble.

"Shhhhhhh, you need to rest," a voice said.

Despite the fact he couldn't see a thing, he recognized the voice right away. "Ga…Ga…by?" he inquired.

"Yeah, its me sweetie," she said warmly, putting a warm towel on his forehead.

Eric tried to think back, trying to recall what happened. _'There was a battle. The Silver Guardians were there, and Frax,'_ he remembered, but the rest was still a blur to him.

"Tell me… what… happened…" he said, trying to take a firm tone with her.

"I swear, even on your death bed you're a stubborn asshole," she sat down on the edge of the examining table. "About a week ago, General Gerrock and Frax attacked Bio-Lab headquarters. You and Wes did your best to hold them off, but you were seriously injured and the Quantum Morpher was damaged beyond repair. You've been here ever since," she told him.

"Where… is… Wes?"

"He tried to get back into Bio-Lab to contact the Time Force rangers to help us, but he never came back. We have to assume he's…" she was cut short as Eric sat up.

"No! We have to go in after him," he groaned.

"You don't have to do anything but rest. You're no good to use like this. Trinity has the Wes' Morpher and she's been doing pretty well. Besides, Theo is with her," she told him.

"TJ's kid? The world is doomed," he mumbled.

"Like it or not, Theo and Trinity are the best chance we have right now," Gaby sighed.

(*)

"Okay you guys, we need a plan," Jen said as the three of them sat around the control panel inside the time ship. Across from her was Tommy, and next to him was Adam.

"I've been able to determine where Frax and General Gerrock are. They're in the Chryo Tech building on the edge of the city. Censors say that the building is heavily guarded by a group of robots," Tommy said.

"I could just switch on my cloak and go in there with the device," Adam brought up.

Jen shook her head. "I thought of that, but your cloaking technology would neutralize the cobolt device as soon as you turned it on. Besides, your cloak would allow _you _to walk through walls, but not the device. What we need to do is get in there without their alarms going off, get near the generator and set off the explosive," she said.

"But if we can't use the cloak, how are we suppose to get in there undetected?" he asked.

Just then, one of the panels began to blink and an alarm went off. Adam rushed over to the panel, going over the readings. "Proximity alert, someone is coming," he said.

"Can you give us a visual?"

He pushed the button, and cameras outside the time ship showed _her_ making her way over the hill and towards the ship.

"It's Trinity," Tommy said. 

"I'll go talk to her, see what she wants," she said.

Tommy stood up. "No, I'll go," he told her, making his way towards the exit.

~

It was an awkward moment for Tommy, standing face to face with her. There were so many things he wanted to tell her, so many things he wanted to ask. _'But now isn't the time,'_ he reminded himself.

"You guys are still here," Trinity mentioned, breaking the silence between them.

"You can't scare us off that easily," he said.

"Good," she paused. "I know I was a bitch earlier, but I wanted to say…" she was cut short.

"No worries, I understand,"

"If we don't do something soon, Frak and Gerrock will take over the entire city, and there won't be anything we can do about it," she swallowed the lump in her throat. "I need your help," she sighed.

"That's what we're here for,"

Just then, a vortex opened in the sky just overhead. Moments later, another time ship emerged from the vortex, landing next to the first one. Tommy and Trinity watched on as the hatch opened, and _he_ stepped off the ship.

Trinity got a good look at him. "Wes?" she inquired, but she noticed there was something different about him. His hair was darker, and slicked back. He didn't have the beard she'd gotten use to, and he was wearing a Time Force uniform.

He walked over to the two of them. "Lt. Oliver," he said, saluting Tommy.

"Sir," Tommy said, acknowledging him.

It was at that moment that Trinity looked at Tommy, staring him up and down. Suddenly, it occurred to her. _'Why hadn't I noticed it before?'_ she wondered.

"Daddy?"


	50. Chapter L: Birthright pt 4

Wes opened his eyes, only to find himself chained to the wall. His wrists ached, and his head pounded, but he managed to look around the room. In the middle of the room was a huge machine that seemed to be humming. The machine was glowing a strange orange-ish color, and there were several smaller machines connected to it.

Then he noticed that _she_ was on the other side of the room.

"Oh my God, Kim," he screamed, trying to get her attention.

She opened her eyes slowly, glancing up and noticing Wes on the opposite side. "Wes? Is that you?" she mumbled.

"Yes honey, its me. What are you doing here?"

"When you didn't come back from your mission, I got worried. Trinity and Theo were busy with the Silver Guardians, and Gaby was taking care of Eric, so I thought…"

"… that you would try to rescue me yourself, right?" he asked.

"Yeah," she sighed. "I use to be so much better at this hero thing,"

"You humans and your sense of heroism, I'll never understand that," they heard a voice say. The two of them glanced over as Frax walked into the room. "Even when faced with imminent destruction, you foolish humans feel the need to fight the inevitable," he told them.

"This isn't over Frax. We defeated you once, and we'll do it again," Wes snapped.

Frax walked over to him. "Are you waiting for your friends to come from the future and save you? You see red ranger, they're already here, and I already defeated them. The Quantum Ranger has been defeated, and your daughter has proven she is no match for the Machine Empire," he explained.

At that moment, Wes kicked back, breaking the chains off the wall and went after Frax. He swung a right hand, but Frax grabbed the chain still attached to his wrist and threw him up against the wall. Wes fell to the floor with a thud, and Frax kicked him in the chest, sending him against the wall again. 

"Just admit your defeat ranger and things will go a lot smoother," he said.

Following Wes' lead, Kim snatched the chains off the wall and jumped on Frax' back, wrapping the chains around Frax' neck. Frack reached back, grabbing Kim and flipped her over his shoulder, dropping her on top of Wes.

"If you won't join me in the new order, you will be destroyed," Frax told them.

As he walked out the room, a group of Silver Guardians rushed in, picking Kim and Wes up, tying their unconscious bodies to the machine in the middle of the room.

(*)

"Daddy? But how?" Trinity asked, staring at him in amazement.

Tommy let out a frustrated sigh, glancing over at Alex tacitly asking for permission. Without a word, Alex nodded, giving his approval. "It's a long story sweetie," he sighed.

"So you better get started," she said firmly.

"A long time ago, I lead a group of rangers to destroy the surviving members of the Machine Empire on the moon. We were successful, but being exposed to my morpher's radiation again warped my DNA. Wes took me to Bio-Lab, where I was cryogenically frozen until a cure could be found," he told her.

"And they couldn't find a cure for 1000 years?" she snapped.

"It was necessary to ensure that the treatment would cure him completely," Alex added.

"So when you were cured, why didn't you come back to me? To mom? Why did you stay in the future?" she asked.

"I had to stay. Coming back would have altered the time line, effected the present and altering the future," Tommy told her.

"You didn't even try," she yelled, turning her back on him.

"Yes I did," he said. She turned around, revealing the tears in her eyes. "You were only a little girl when I came to see you, but I did my best to stay out of sight. You and your mother were playing in the front yard waiting for Wes to come. When he showed up, the two of you jumped off the porch and hugged him. It was beautiful, you had a family again. It was obvious that Wes and your mother were going to be together, so it was better for everyone involved that I just stayed out the way. Look at you, you turned out just a beautiful as your mother," he explained.

"She says I have your eyes," she sighed.

He nodded. "Yes, you do,"

"Now what do you say we go in there and beat the living hell out of the Machine Empire?" she snapped, wiping the tears away from her eyes.

"Sounds good to me," he paused. "And watch your language,"

~

"Alright guys, so what's the plan?" Adam asked as the five of them sat around the table in the time ship.

Alex stood up. "Frax is already aware of the fact that you're here, and he'll be expecting you. The three of you should storm in and do your best to hold off the Silver Guardians. Trinity, your job will be to get in there and get your parents out," he paused, noticing the uncomfortable look on her face. "I'll go in with the explosives attached to me, and before Frax and Gerrock figure out what's going on, I'll detonate it," he explained.

"But that'll kill you," Trinity pointed out.

"I'm aware of the risks,"

"No," Jen stood up. "There has to be another way. I'm not willing to sacrifice anyone, not unless we have to," she said.

"We _do_ have to."

"I'm not convinced."

"You'll just have to take my word for it _Jennifer,_"

"No, I don't. I'm the superior officer here, and you'll take _my_ word for it _Alexander,_" she snapped. "Now no one here in going to die, not if I can help it. Is that clear?" she asked.

"Perfectly," he sighed.

"Good. Trinity, do you have censors of any kind here?" she asked.

"Yes, but they're off line. They have been since the initial attack," Trinity said.

"We have to find out exactly where that generator is without being detected by Frax or Gerrock, then set the cobolt device and get out of there," she said.

"Theo and I have been working on an experimental teleportation system. We only have a prototype, but we've tested it on inanimate objects successfully. The only problem is that it drains its power supply very quickly. If it was at full power, it would have enough energy to teleport one person, maybe two," she explained.

Jen turned to Alex. "Go with Trinity and get the prototype. We may be able to modify it and give it an external power source. Adam, its up to you and Tommy to keep the Silver Guardians distracted while I get to the main generator and set the explosive," Jen explained.

"You got it cap," Adam said, standing up.

"But wait, you'll be killed," Trinity said.

"That's why I'm counting on you and Alex to get that teleportation system working. If this is going to work, we'll have to work together. Dismissed," she said.

(*)

Alex and Trinity made their way towards the warehouse, doing their best to stay out of sight. The sun was beginning to set, making it easier for them to travel, but there were still Silver Guardians patrolling the city.

The two of them ducked down behind a dumpster as a group of guardians went by. Trinity reached for her disrupter, aiming at one of them. Before she could fire, Alex grabbed her, snatching the weapon away from her. 

She gave him a cold stare, but Alex shook his head. Instead, he picked up a rock and threw it up against the side of the dumpster. That quickly got the attention as two of the guardians headed for the alleyway. As soon as the first one approached them, Alex grabbed him, ramming his head first into the dumpster, knocking him out cold. The second one realized what was happening, but Trinity grabbed him by the neck, giving him some type of nerve hold, knocking him out.

Trinity turned to Alex, who was taking the clothes off the unconscious guardian. Following suit, Trinity began to remove the clothes of the other. A few moments later, and the two of them were dressed as the Silver Guardians, leaving the real guardians half naked and unconscious in the alley.

"Good plan," she admitted.

"I thought so too," he said as they headed for the warehouse.

They made it to the entrance, walking inside, then made their way to the back of the building. Trinity pressed a panel, and a secret entrance opened. The two of them stepped inside, where Theo greeted them with a disrupter in each hand, aiming at them.

"Hold it right…" he paused. "Oh my God. Trinity, Wes. You're both okay," he said, rushing over to Trinity and wrapping his arms around her.

"Yeah I'm fine, but that isn't Wes," she said.

"What?"

"Commander Alexander Collins, Time Force," Alex said firmly, extending his hand to him.

Theo paused, looking over at Trinity, who nodded, tacitly giving her approval. Theo reluctantly obliged him. "Theodore Johnson Jr., but just call me Theo," he said.

"It's a pleasure Theo,"

"Theo, we need the prototype for the teleportation system," Trinity said.

"But its still in the experimental phase, that's why its called a prototype," he mentioned.

"I know, but Alex and the other Time Force officers think they can enhance it and give it enough power to work," she said.

"If you say so," he sighed, walking away.

"He is always that… skeptical?" Alex inquired.

"No, most times he just shoots you and doesn't bother asking questions," she told him.

"Oh,"

~

Gaby walked into the infirmary with a new roll of bandages, only to see Eric standing on his feet, putting on his Silver Guardian uniform. Blood had soaked through the original bandaging on his chest, but he zipped up his uniform to disguise it.

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked him.

"I have to help. I can't just lay there while those mechanical bastards take over the city," he told her.

"You're in no condition to fight, you'll be killed," she said.

"And if I stay here, they'll find us and kill us both. I like my chances better in a fight," he said.

She dropped the bandages. "Damn it Eric I won't let you go. I won't lose you," she screamed.

Suddenly, Eric felt his heart drop. All his life, anything he ever wanted required him to fight for it. Whether it was his beliefs, or simply surviving, he knew he there was a struggle involved. The city was being over run by cyborgs, and anyone who could help there were already killed or altered by the Machine Empire, so it only seemed right to him that he do what he could to stop it. Regardless of the pain, regardless of his injuries, in spite of the odds, he had to try.

Then he thought of her.

It was the first time he'd seen her cry, and for once, he understood the way she felt. _'One more person can make a difference, but there's no way I'd let her go out there alone,'_ he thought to himself.

Just then, he dropped the Quantum Defender, letting it fall to the floor. "You're not going to lose me," he sighed.

"You mean…"

"If you don't want me to, I won't go out there," he told her.

"Oh Eric," she cried, running over to him and wrapping her arms around him.

"I love you Gaby,"

"I love you too," she paused. "You stubborn bastard,"

Just then, Theo walked into the infirmary, doing his best to be quiet, but they noticed him anyway. "Oh, hi guys. Glad to see you're back on your feet Eric," he said.

"Thanks,"

"Trinity is here with someone from Time Force, they have a plan," he said, walking over to a table, picking up the teleportation unit.

Eric looked at Gaby, and without him saying a word, he knew exactly what he was trying to say. She leaned up, kissing him on the cheek. "Go ahead Eric, go play with your friends, but you back in time for dinner," she said.

"Yes ma'am," he said, following Theo out the room.

(*)

Tommy and Adam stood on a hilltop overlooking Chryo Tech, where there were dozens of Silver Guardians patrolling the area.

"How many did you say were down there?" he asked.

"According to the censor readings, there are thirty guardians outside the building, and another twenty inside guarding the generator," Adam told him.

Tommy glanced over at Jen, who was slowly making her way towards the building. "Alright, we have to give Jen the distraction she needs to get in there, but we also have to get as many of the guardians as we can out the building. When that bomb goes off and their memories come back, we'll need all the help we can get with Frax and General Gerrock," he said.

"Understood," he said, reaching for his Morpher. _"TIME FOR, TIME FORCE,"_ he called out, transforming into the black ranger.

The guardians saw him right away and raced towards him, but Adam did a flip, landing on one of the guardian's shoulder, then flipped over, dropping him on his head. Two more charged at him, but he gave one a sweep, then did another flip, landing behind the guardian and kicked him in the back, sending him face first into the side of the building. Three more grabbed Adam by the arms, but the golden blades extended from his forearms, stabbing both of them in the stomach. He then fell to his knees and grabbed their arms, flipping them over.

_"TIME FOR, TIME FORCE,"_ Tommy called out, transforming into the red ranger. He charged down the hill, hitting a tornado kick to the jaw of one of the guardians, knocking him out. Tommy and Adam stood back to back, but Adam dropped to his knees, allowing Tommy to flip over him, kicking one of the guardians. Adam went for a sweep on the others, taking him down.

The two of them found themselves surrounded by unconscious bodies, nodding in approval. "Wow, that was way too easy," Adam said.

"Perhaps you need a tougher opponent," they heard a voice say. They turned around as General Gerrock came out the building with a sword in each hand. 

"You're just as ugly as I remember," Tommy said.

It was Adam who rushed at him first with a spin kick, but Gerrock blocked it, and then gave him an upper cut that sent him 10 feet into the air, crashing to the ground. Tommy was next, but Gerrock swung the sword at him. He managed to avoid it, and then connect with a kick, but it only forced Gerrock to stumble back. Tommy tried again, but Gerrock cocked back, stabbing Tommy in the stomach with one of the swords. As soon as it went through, it forced Tommy to power down. He layed on the ground as blood gushed out his stomach, and Gerrock stood over him.

"Foolish human, no one is a match for the Machine Empire," he said, and was ready to stomp him, but a disrupter beam caught him in the chest, taking down the General.

As he got back to his feet, he saw Trinity, Eric and Alex come over the hill. Eric tended to Tommy while Alex and Trinity went after the General.

"Nobody hurts my father and gets away with it," she reached for her Morpher. _"TIME FOR, TIME FORCE,"_ she called out, transforming into the red ranger. 

Gerrock swung his sword, but she caught it between her hands, then spun around. She snatched the sword out his hand, ending up behind him, using the sword to stab him in the back. Sparks shot out the hole in his back, and she grabbed her disrupter, setting it on overload and rammed the barrel of the phaser into his back.

"What have you done?" Gerrock yelled.

"Your time is up," she said.

Before he could respond, the disrupter exploded, taking General Gerrock with it. When the smoke cleared, the general was gone.

"You're good," Alex admitted.

"I try,"

"I'll get Tommy back to the time ship, this injury looks pretty bad," Eric sighed, picking Tommy up and heading over the hill.

"Our job is done, its up to Jen now," Alex said.

(*)

Jen headed down the hallway slowly, trying to avoid being seen. There were a few guardians patrolling the halls, but she managed to stay out of sight. She came to the end of the hallway, coming into the only door that was closed.

As soon as she walked in, she saw Wes and Kimberly tied to a machine and unconscious in the middle of the room. She put down the cobolt device, walking over to Wes and cutting him free. "Wes, can you hear me?" she whispered.

Wes opened his eyes slowly. "Jen? Is that you?" he mumbled.

She nodded. "They'll be plenty of time for a reunion. Right now, we need to get you and your wife out of here," she said, trying to control her emotions.

"Shes not my wife," he mentioned. "Yet,"

"Whatever, just get her up and out of here," she said.

Wes hurried around to the other side of the generator, untying her. "Kimmy? Kimmy baby wake up," he said.

Kim opened her eyes. "What the…"

"Just come on, I'll tell you all about it later," he told her.

Jen attached the cobolt device to the main generator, then smaller devices to the other generators scattered around the room. Finally, she connected them all with a small wire, then activated the detonation device, reaching for her Morpher. "Trinity, Alex, have you got that teleportation system working yet?" she asked.

_'Yes and no,'_ a voice said.

"What do you mean yes and no?"

_'Yes, the system is on line and ready. We've been able to lock onto your Morpher and can teleport you out of there, but because of the radiation coming from the cobolt device, we can't get a positve lock without running the risk of scattering your atoms into space/time continuum,'_ Trinity explained.

"Wes and Kim are here too, what do you suggest?" she asked.

"I suggest all of you prepare to die," they heard a voice say. The three of them turned around as Frax walked into the room, locking the door behind him. "Because none of you are leaving," he told them.

"Stand by Trinity," Jen switched on the detonator. "We've got three minutes, and if I have to stay here to make sure you get blown to bits, so be it," she told him.

"You really think it's that simple, don't you?" he laughed. "Sacrifice yourself to stop me and save the Earth? Sorry to disappoint you ranger," he said, reaching for a small controller in his hand and pushed the button. "What the…"

"Trying to teleport out of here? Theres too much radiation from the cobolt device," she said.

"Looks like you're stuck in here with us," Kim mentioned.

"This is impossible," he groaned as he tried again, but with no luck. "If we're going to be destroyed, I'd rather it be with my hands around your throat," he said, rushing towards Jen.

He grabbed her, but she fell back, hitting a judo style toss, flipping him over and up against the wall. Frax got back to his feet, pulling out a disrupter.

"I wouldn't shoot that if I were you. The radiation in here would detonate and kill us all," Wes pointed out.

"It doesn't matter. If I'm dying, you're coming with me," he said.

He was about to pull the trigger, but Kim kicked the disrupter out his hand, catching it in mid air and aiming it at him. "Your time is out," she said proudly.

"I think you mean your time is _up_ sweetheart," Wes corrected.

"Yeah, what he said,"

"You fools, in thirty seconds it won't matter," Frax told them.

Jen reached for her Morpher. "Trinity, Alex, now would be a good time for a miracle," she said.

_'We've got a lock, but you have to get as far away from the generator as you can. There's seems to be an ionic flux coming from inside the room,'_ Alex told her.

"Ionic flux? From where?"

_'Unknown,'_ he said.

"Its over rangers. We're all going to die in here," Frax screamed.

 "Wes, Kim, get to the opposite end of the room now," Jen ordered. Without saying a word, the two of them headed to the farther end of the room, holding one another. Jen reached for her Morpher again. "Guys, do you still have that lock on my Morpher?" she asked.

_'Yes, and the radiation levels seem lower where ever you're standing,'_ Alex said.

_'Captain, this is Trinity. The teleportation system won't be able to get all three of you. Maybe two, but that's all I can promise,'_ she said.

"Understood. Begin teleportation sequence," she ordered.

_'Beginning transport… now,' _she said.

Jen quickly took off her Morpher, throwing it to Kim. On instinct alone, Kim caught up. "Goodbye Wes," Jen sighed.

"Jen no!" he yelled, but he and Kim disappeared into a stream of light.

… and the generator exploded.

~

Wes and Kim materialized on the time ship, where Eric, Alex and Trinity were sitting at the control panel. Alex turned around, realizing Jen wasn't there.

"Where is she? Where is Captain Scott?" he yelled.

Kim walked over to Alex, amazed how much the two of them looked alike, but decided now wasn't the time to say anything about it. She handed him Jen's Morpher. "She gave it to us so we could escape," she sighed.

"No," Alex yelled, throwing the Morpher up against the wall.

Just then, the black ranger walked into the room, removing his helmet. "Trinity, scan that building for life signs, maybe she's…" he was cut short.

"I'm sorry, she's gone," Trinity sighed.

***-* days later *-***

Kim and Wes stood on the beach hand in hand, staring at the time ship. Being there, looking up at that ship, reminded Wes of the last time he had to say goodbye to Jen. It was years ago, but he remembered it all like it was yesterday. Watching her leave was one of the hardest things he'd ever have to do; the thought of never being able to see the woman he loved ever again scared him to death.

_'But that was a long time ago,'_ he thought to himself. Since then, he'd been able to move on with his life. It took him years before he was ready to date again, and when he did, he found himself attracted to Kimberly Hart. Originally, he felt guilty for having feeling about Kim, especially considering Tommy asked him to watch over her. At the time, Tommy was frozen at Bio-Lab, and he had no idea that he would removed from his cryogenic status in the future. He'd done his best to care for Kimberly and her daughter, but when Tommy asked him to look after his family, something told Wes he didn't mean fall in love with her.

This time he was saying goodbye to Jen, but it was completely different. He knew that this time, she truly wasn't coming back.

Tommy approached the two of them slowly, taking a deep breath. His arm was in a sling, and his ribs were bandaged heavily.

"Wes…" he paused. "You take care of her, she's a hell of a woman," he said, extending his hand to him.

"I will," he promised, obliging him.

"Wes, could you give Tommy and I…" she was cut short.

"Of course," Wes said, walking away.

Kim took a step towards him. "I don't know what to say," she sighed as tears rolled down her face.

"Neither do I,"

"Please understand that when I started dating Wes, I thought you were…" he interrupted her.

"I know, its okay. If you had to move on, I'm glad its with a guy like Wes. Hes a good man," Tommy sighed.

"I'll always love you Tommy, always," she cried, making no effort to control her emotions.

"I love you too beautiful," he sighed.

The two of them wrapped their arms around one another, taking a second to hold each other. It was the first time he'd felt her, held her. He only wished the circumstances could have been different.

"Hope you've got a hug for your little girl," a voice said.

Tommy backed away from Kim slowly as Trinity walked over to them. Kim kissed Tommy warmly on the cheek, then walked away, giving Trinity some time alone with him.

"I'm sure I can manage to squeeze one out," he said.

She wrapped her arms around him. "I just want you to know that I understand why you did what you did, and I'm not mad at you. I'm just glad to know you're okay, even if it is 1000 years away," she sighed.

"You never know when I might pop up to check on you," he said.

"I love you daddy," she sighed.

"I love you too," he backed away slowly. "You know, you have your mother's smile," he mentioned.

"So I've been told," she mumbled.

"Goodbye Trinity," he sighed, slowly walking away.

~

Tommy stepped onto the time ship, taking his seat at the control panel. "Are we ready to go?" he asked.

"I've coordinated with Commander Collins on his time ship, we're ready to head back," Adam told him. "That is, if you're finished here,"

"Yeah, we're finished," he sighed.

~

Kim, Trinity and Wes watched as both of the time ships lifted off. Vortex' opened in the sky, and the three of them watched on as the ships inside, disappearing. "Bye daddy," Trinity sighed.


	51. Chapter LI: The search

**Author's note: **This fic contains portions of "Future Shock" chapter 3.

Trip and Camille stood in the main shuttle bay, waiting for the time ships to arrive. They'd received transmissions from both Tommy's time ship and Alex', both saying they would be arriving soon.

Camille headed over to the control panel, glancing over the readings. "There's a vortex opening about a half mile from here, it could be them," she said.

"Can you open a channel?"

"No, too much interference from the vortex. Once it closes, we'll be able to hail them," she told him.

"Good."

Ever since Alex informed them of his message from the future, he'd been more than concerned about Jen. He'd learned first hand that things can change, history can (and has) been altered dozens of time, so just because an admiral from the future said something was going to happen to Jen doesn't mean it _did_ happen. Still, he couldn't help but worry.

The doors to the main shuttle bay opened, and in the distance, the two of them could see the time ships approaching. 

"Final docking will commence in 45 seconds," Camille said, then opened a channel. "Time ship one this is Lt. Summers, you're clear for landing on pad four," she said.

_'Roger that Camille,'_ a voice said.

She recognized the voice as Tommy's, but there was something different about it, something disturbing.

"Time ship two, you're clear for landing on pad two," she said, opening a second channel.

_'Thanks Camille,'_ another voice said.

That voice belonged to Alex, but like Tommy, there was a distressing tone in his voice. Suddenly, Camille began to share in Trip's concerns.

Both time ships touched down in the main shuttle bay, powering down their engines. Camille stepped away from the controls and down onto the main floor with Trip. The hatch on the first time ship opened as Alex stepped out. Though he had on his deeply tinted sunglasses, Camille noticed tears rolling down his face.

"Commander," she said firmly.

"At ease Lt.," she put her arms at her side. "If you'll excuse me," he sighed, simply walking away.

Before she had a chance to say anything, the second time ship landed and the hatch opened. Both Tommy and Adam stepped off the ship with somber looks on their faces.

"Tommy?" Trip sighed, noticing the look on his face.

"Contact Admiral Logan and the rest of the senior staff. Tell him to meet us in the conference room in ten minutes," he said, neglecting to even acknowledge the two of them as he and Adam continued to walk.

"But Tommy, where is Jen?" Camille asked.

"Just assemble the senior staff," he sighed, walking out the room.

(*)

Tommy walked into the conference room a little over ten minutes later, only to see that the entire senior staff had been assembled. On one side of the table was Lt. Emery, Trip, Adam and Camille. On the opposite side of the table were Nadira and Lucas and Alex. Admiral Logan stood at the head of the table with his arms folded.

"What's going on Lt. Oliver?" the Admiral asked.

He headed over to the chair next to Nadira, but neglected to sit down. "I haven't filed an official report yet, but I wanted to be the one to tell you first," he took a deep breath. "We were able to defeat Frax and General Gerrock, putting an end to the Machine Empire, but it cost Jen her life in the process," he sighed.

"What?!" Lucas snapped, standing up.

 "She knew what she was doing, she gave her life to save not only us, but a group of civilians," he told them.

"Where is Captain Scott's body?" the admiral asked.

"Jen was trapped in an explosion,"

  
"I see,"

"So if there isn't a body, there's a chance she's still…" Lt. Emery was cut short.

"No, there is no chance. I was there, I saw the explosion. Nothing could have survived," Alex mentioned.

The admiral sat down, taking a deep breath as he tried to gather his thoughts. "In light of the situation, the slipstream project is again left without a commanding officer. Commander Collins, you are the highest ranking officer, but because you're needed in Temporal Investigations, I'm afraid I can't offer you that position," he said.

"I understand,"

"Lt. Oliver, if you're willing to accept the position, I will promote you to the rank of Commander and put you in charge of the slipstream project," he said.

"I wish it was under better circumstances sir, but I accept," he sighed.

"Very good. Until a new pink ranger can be assigned, I'll need to take the Morpher into custody," he told them.

Alex stood up. "Sir, the pink Morpher was damaged during the battle, but I believe it can be repaired," he said, remembering throwing it against the wall in the time ship.

"Camille, can you and Trip see to the repairs?" 

"Yes sir. Depending on the damage, we should have it operational in about 48 to 72 hours," Camille said.

"Very good. Unless there is anything else, dismissed," the admiral said.

One by one, everyone stood up, filing out the room. "Camille, Trip," Tommy called out, getting their attention. The two of them walked over to Tommy.

"Sir?" Trip asked.

"What can the two of you tell me about an ionic flux?" he asked.

"Well, it depends on what type. There are at least a dozen different types of ionic fluxes, most of them can be detected by our censors," she said.

"Before we tried to teleport Jen out of the building, the censors on the time ship picked up an ionic flux, and it was interfering with us getting a lock on Jen. I need the two of you to get on that ship and analyze the readings," he said.

"No problem, but what are we looking for?" Trip asked.

"I don't know. It could be nothing, but I won't be able to rest until I know for sure," he told them. "Make those censor readings your highest priority and report back to me as soon as you know something,"

"Yes sir,"

(*)

"Your vital signs are just about back to normal, your heart rate is down slightly, but I don't think its anything to worry about. I see no reason why you can't return to active duty," Dr. Young said, reading over the charts one final time.

Katie hopped off the examining table with a smile on her face. "Thanks doc, I've been dying to get out of here," she said.

Before she could leave, it was Adam who walked into the room. "Katie, you're doing much better," he sighed.

"Yeah, doc says I can finally get back to work. I can't wait to see Jen and the others," she said cheerfully.

"Katie, theres something you need to know," he took a deep breath. "We just came back from a mission to the 21st century. There was an incident," he started.

"What kind of incident? Is everyone okay?" 

"No, they're not,"

"What happened Adam? Tell me," she insisted.

He paused. "Its Jen. She was…" he was cut short.

"Oh my God," she sighed, putting her hands over her mouth.

"She did what she had to do," he sighed.

Without another word, the two of them wrapped their arms around one another.

(*)

Tommy walked into the science lab, glancing around the room. It seemed like only yesterday that he stepped into the lab for the first time, amazed at how far technology had come. _'Only yesterday,'_ he chuckled inwardly. All the time traveling and visiting alternate realities had twisted his perception of time.

He recalled Jen giving him the grand tour of the building, and his new quarters: 

_"This is the place," Jen said as she opened the door, then stepped to the side, allowing him to walk in._

_Tommy stepped in slowly, but it was dark as far as the eye could see. He instinctively reached for the wall, searching for the light switch, but with no luck. "I can't seem to…" She cut him short as she realized what he was doing._

_"Sorry," she cleared her throat. "Lights," she called out, and instantly, the entire room as lit up. "The entire house is voice activated, so just ask for what you want and the computer will turn anything in the house on or off," she explained._

_"This is too much," he sighed as he walked in, getting a good look at the place._

_He remembered as a child growing up in foster homes, having rooms no bigger than closets. Even when he hung up his morpher for the last time, got married and settled down with his family, his house didn't compare to the living arrangements Time Force had given him. The living room itself was huge, bigger than most of the places he'd lived in, with a flat screen television mounted on the wall. There was a couch, but it was unlike any couch he'd seen before. It was almost as if it was levitating in a single spot. To be sure, he walked over to it and peeked underneath. Sure enough, nothing there to hold it up._

_"I thought that pictures of your friends and family would make the place seem – you know – more comfortable, so I printed out of the pictures we had in the history logs," she mentioned, but no sooner than she finished her sentence did he notice the pictures on the wall._

_He stopped at the picture of he and the other rangers. _'I must have been 16 or 17 years old in this pic,'_ he thought to himself, recalling when he originally moved to Angel Grove. All of the rangers, all the way down to Jason and Zach, looked so different than he remembered. Over the years, all of them changed. Some for the better, others… not so better._

_Next, he came to a picture of he and his wife on their wedding day. The sight of her forced him to crack a smile. "I can't believe you went through so much trouble," he sighed, trying to hold back the tears as they formed in his eyes._

_"It was no trouble at all, really," she insisted._

Jen was always like that, going out of her way to make other people happy. He blamed himself for not doing more, for getting injured in the battle so early and having to go back to the time ship. He wanted to protect her, to keep her safe, but she knew she was doing. _'Even if I had been there, she would have done the same thing all over again,'_ he thought to himself.

He wanted nothing more than to go back in time and save her life, to teleport in, pull her out of there and blow the building up again, but he knew that would alter the time line. The cobolt device, not to mention that mysterious ionic flux, was disrupting the teleportation system. Even if he _did_ go back, the results would be the same.

Tommy sat down at the control panel, taking a long, deep breath as he put his head against the panel. "There has to be something I can do," he said, not even realizing he'd said it outloud.

"I'm afraid there wasn't," a voice said.

He turned around only to see _her_ standing behind him. She was obviously a Time Force officer, but her uniform was different. It was predominately black with white trim, and a blue collar underneath. 

"Who are you?"

"I am Admiral Summers, I'm from what you would consider the future," she told him.

He remembered Alex mentioning something about being contacted by someone from the future, but he never went into detail. However, it was logical to assume that she was the same person who informed Alex of certain events.

"Come to warn us about something else we have no control over?" he snapped.

Her facial expression didn't change. "I understand your feelings Lt., but…" she was cut short.

"Actually, its Commander now," he corrected.

"Ah yes, after Captain Scott's dead, you were promoted," she recalled.

"So what do you want?"

"To ensure that everything is going as history intends for it to go. It is imperative that history be allowed to flow smoothly," she said.

"Smoothly for who? For you?" he stood up, standing nose to nose with her. "Listen lady, I don't give a damn about your interoperation of the future and how _you _think things should go. We lost our captain a few days ago, and all you can worry about is your timeline and your peace of mind. Now if you'll excuse me, I…" he was cut short.

"Are you done commander?"

"Yeah, I'm done," he said, turning to walk away.

"I take it you've already found the ionic flux," she mentioned.

That was enough to get his attention. "What about the flux? What do you know?" he snapped.

"A great deal more than you do,"

He paused. "You know what? Keep your information, I don't want it. I've already got Trip and Camille going over the censor readings in the time ship. Sooner or later I'll find out what that flux was, without your help," Tommy told her.

"As you wish commander," she sighed.

Tommy turned around, but she was gone. 

(*)

Trip and Camille sat at the helm of the time ship, going over the censor logs in the main computer. "There is it again, an ionic flux," Trip said.

"Its so small that I can't get any other readings on it," she added.

"But it was big enough for the censors to pick it up. That doesn't seem right, a reading so big we can detect it, but so small we can't analyze it," he mentioned.

She paused. "Think about it, what would cause as ionic flux to be this small?" she inquired.

"Hundreds of things. Maybe the radiation from the cobolt device interfered with the censors, maybe the generator itself let off some high particle radiation that the censors couldn't pick up, maybe there was a temporal disruption. It could be anything," he said.

"Actually sweetie, its all three," she said.

"What?"

"Think about it: radiation from the cobolt device is virtually immeasurable by our censors, but enough for us to pick them up and know its there. The generator itself also emitted low-level radiation of some kind. Imagine what would happen if those radiation particles were to combine on a bio-chemical level," she said.

He paused. "If the levels were high enough, it would be enough to rip the fabric of the space/time continuum, but not enough to do anything significant," he said.

"Now imagine trying to focus a teleportation beam in the same location," she added.

"The ionic matrix that controls the teleportation system would act as an energy boost, making the rip even bigger. It would seriously interfere with the teleportation signal," he paused. "And if would leave a hole in the space/time continuum just big enough for…"

"… for someone to go through," Camille told him.

"Jen escaped through a time hole," he said.

"But we have no way of knowing where or when the time hole led," she said.

"Wait a sec," he glanced over the readings on the control panel again. "Jen's Morpher has a unique signature, just like all humans do. It's almost like a fingerprint for each universe," he said.

"Yeah? So?"

"Do you remember when we traveled to that world where the planet itself was unstable and we have to get all the people out of there?" he asked.

"Yeah, Lucas was there but was accidentally trapped there," she recalled.

"We were able to scan for his home world and open a portal there. We should be able to use Jen's Morpher to get her bio-molecular signature, then input that signature into the computer and begin scanning the timeline for that signature," he said.

"But that could take years,"

"Based on what we know, the rift itself is much too small for it to be an opening to a different reality, which means that Jen is either in the past, or in the future," he said.

"So we should scan the time line for Jen's signature," Camille said.

"Exactly,"

She paused. "We have to consider the possibility that when we find her, she could already be dead. Based on these readings, that explosion was huge, and it's highly improbable that anyone could survive it," she sighed.

"I know, but we have to try," he said.

"Should we contact Tommy and tell him?"

"No, I don't want to get his hopes up. We should wait until we know something for sure, then contact the commander," he said.

"Sounds good. Lets get to work," Camille said.


	52. Chapter LII: The business proposal

**Author's note: **_This fic contains portions of "Birthright" and "Back from the future pt. II" from the **Parallels **series._

**_*-* Silver Hills, California * 2015 AD *-*_**

_"So what's the verdict doc?" Tommy asked, sitting up on the examining table._

_There were various wires and needles embedded in his arm, all of them hooked up to machinery next to the table. The doctor walked over to the equipment to take a reading, then confirmed it with the information he had on his clipboard._

_TJ, Andros and Wes stood across the room silently, hoping the doctor would have something positive to say. After their battle against the Machine Empire, all of them were prepared to go their separate ways, but TJ discovered Tommy unconscious behind the abandoned warehouse. His skin was glowing a dim shade of green, and he was covered in sweat. The three of them weren't sure what was wrong, but were convinced that a traditional doctor would be unable to help him. Instead, they opted to take him to Bio-Lab. _

_Once there, they had their leading scientists and doctors examine him, hoping to find the cause of his illness. There was a point when the room was full of doctors, including Dr. Zaskins, the leading scientist in charge of the Quantum Ranger project._

_"To be honest with you Mr. Oliver, we don't even know where to begin to determine how the illness occurred. Without knowing the cause, we can't even begin to fathom a cure," he said._

_"But what's wrong with me?" he inquired._

_"From all I can tell, you cells are being affected on a cellular level. If it persists, the damage to your cells will become irreversible. In a nutshell, whatever is happening to you will eventually kill you," he told him._

_Tommy took a deep breath, trying to come to terms with the news. He quickly glanced over at Wes. "Do you think the other Time Force rangers would be able to do something?" he asked._

_"I already contacted Captain Logan, he refused to help. He said it would alter the flow of time and there's nothing he can do," Wes sighed._

_"So what? That's it? We're just going to let him die?" TJ protested._

_"Actually, I have an alternative," the doctor brought up._

_"Which is?"_

_"We have the technology to cryogenically freeze you, putting you in a state of suspended animation. You could left in suspension until some sort of cure can be found," he said._

_"How long will that take?"_

_"I'm unsure. We'll take a sample of your blood and analyze it, study it, see if we can determine anything. It may take a week, it may take a month. Maybe even longer," he said._

_"I need to discuss this with my wife first. See what she has to say," Tommy said, hopping off the examining table._

_"If the suspension is going to work, it has to be now. Waiting any longer will allow your cells to continue to break down. If the deterioration becomes any worse, chyrogenics will no longer be a factor," he warned._

_"You mean I have to make the decision now?" he asked._

_"I'm afraid so," the doctor sighed._

_Tommy walked over to TJ and the others. "I guess there is no other choice, is there guys?" he asked them._

_"The people at Bio-Lab are professionals, if anyone can help, it's them," Andros told him._

_Tommy turned to Wes. "I'm counting on you to get me out of this one," he said._

_"You got it," Wes said, extending his hand to him._

_The two of them shook._

_"When they do it, I need you to go to my wife and tell her what's happened. Take care of her for me. Tell her I love her, and that I'll be home as soon as I can," he said._

_"I will,"_

_"Thanks man," Tommy sighed._

_"Alright Mr. Oliver, if you'll come with me," the doctor said, motioning for him to follow._

_"Good luck Tommy, and may the power protect you," TJ said, patting him on the shoulder for luck as they watched Tommy and the doctor walk out the room……_

Though it had been almost 20 years, he remembered all of it as if it were yesterday. _'I looked him in the eyes and promised him,'_ he reminded himself. For years, he felt guilty, almost ashamed of having feelings for her. Part of him felt as though he betrayed a friend, breaking a promise and using it to get close to her. In the beginning, he had every intention of providing for her; but as time went by, and he found himself spending more and more time with her, his intentions changed. 

Originally, he tried to blame his feelings of Jen. _'I was vulnerable. I was still hurt after Jen left, I just needed someone…'_, but that excuse wasn't even enough for him. He knew there was more to it than that.

Wes paused for a moment, picking up a picture of Kim and Trinity sitting on his desk. It was taken years ago; Trinity couldn't have been any older than six or seven at the time. The picture was enough to force him to crack a smile. Some of the happiest times of his life had been spent with the two of them. Granted, part of him always felt as though he was laying on Tommy's side of the bed, laying next to Tommy's girlfriend, living in Tommy's house and taking care of Tommy's daughter. As much as it bothered him, he could never bring himself to ask Kim to move. After all, it was all she had left to remind her of Tommy.

It had eaten him alive for years, knowing that if he'd told her the truth, things would be different. There were times when he was stand in the cryogenic suspension area and simply stare at the unit that held Tommy, wondering if Tommy would approve of what he'd done. 

Then it happened…

Almost 1000 years later, Jen and the other Time Force rangers were able to revive Tommy, and he became a part of their team.

When Frax and General Gerrock of the Machine Empire tried to take over the city, Time Force sent Jen, Tommy and the others to help. He was convinced that the moment Kim saw Tommy again, alive and well, she would want him back. He knew she would forget about the years they'd spent together and go back to Tommy…

… but she didn't…

Finally, after years of guilt, years of blaming himself for the way things turned out, Tommy gave him his approval:

_"Wes…" he paused. "You take care of her, she's a hell of a woman," he said, extending his hand to him._

_"I will," he promised, obliging him._

It was at that moment that he was able to put all the guilt behind him; all the feelings of betrayal were gone. Tommy had given his blessing, and now, he was looking forward to getting on with his life.

"Earth to Wes," he heard a voice say.

He glanced up as he saw Gaby and Eric standing in the doorway snapping her fingers, breaking his concentration and snapping him back into reality.

"Well if it isn't Mr. And Mrs. Myers? What's up?" he asked, trying to sound as if nothing was bothering him. Something told him that Gaby wouldn't leave it at that though.

"I should be asking you the same question," she walked in, sitting in front of his desk. "Wanna tell me what's on your mind?" she inquired.

He rubbed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "I'm okay, its just that today is the big day," he said insincerely, hoping she wouldn't pry.

"I know, your father has that meeting about the merger. This could mean big things for Bio-Lab. I don't know much about the other company, but I've heard good things about them. Apparently they're responsible for the development of distribution of…" she said.

"I don't see what the big deal is. Bio-Lab has gotten along just fine without this other company for years now," Eric mentioned.

"Yeah, but with most of the scientists killed or injured, not to mention most of the Silver Guardians still in critical condition after the Machine Empire's attack, Bio-Lab needs all the help it can get," she brought up.

"This merger will be a good thing. It's a step forward for both companies," Wes added.

"If you say so, but something doesn't feel right to me," he snarled.

"You're paranoid. You always think there's some big conspiracy. Trust me, this is going to work out," Gaby told him.

Wes looked down at his watch. "Speaking of the meeting, we should get down there. It's going to start in a minute," he said, standing up.

"Do you really need _me_ there? You're better at this stuff than I am," Eric pointed out.

"Dad respects your opinion as much as mine, I know he'd want you there. Besides, just in case there is a conspiracy, you need to be there to tell me you told me so," he said with a giggle.

"Whatever Collins," he groaned.

"You two boys run along now and play nicely," she stood up, kissing Eric warmly on the lips. "Just give me a call when the meeting is over and tell me how it went," she said.

"See ya," Eric said as he and Wes walked out the office.

~

The two of them walked into the conference room, where there was a group of people sitting around the table. Wes recognized some of them; Tanya Sloan from Z-Tech was sitting on the far right, Dr. Heather Zaskins, who replaced her father as the top scientist in Bio-Lab after he passed away, and of course his father, Alan Collins, who stood at the head of the table.

"Wes, Eric, you made it," he motioned for them to sit down. "Have a seat, we were just about to get started," his father said. Wes and Eric sat down; conveniently there were two empty chairs next to one another. "I'm sure most of you remember my son, Wesley Collins and his partner, Eric Myers. The two of them command the Silver Guardians," he mentioned.

"Of course," Tanya said.

Mr. Collins motioned to his left. "Wes, Eric, this is Mr. Bruce Wayne, head of Wayne Enterprises in Gotham City," he introduced. Mr. Wayne was an older gentleman, by Eric's estimation, in his mid 50s. His hair was a bit gray, but all things considered, he looked to be in good shape. 

"Pleasure to meet you sir," Wes said.

"And this is…" he was cut short as another man stood up. This man considerably younger than Mr. Wayne, Eric noticed, with a bald head and a monotone look on his face. If he had to make a guess, he would have placed him in his early 30s.

"Luthor. Lex Luthor, head of Luthor Corp. Lets get down to business, shall we? We've all heard of the _incident_ that took place in Bio-Lab only a few weeks ago. Apparently an experiment in robotics went wrong and most of your Silver Guardians were lost in the process. These robots made their way into your city, changing civilians into half human/half robot hybrids and were only hours away from taking over your entire city until…" he glanced down at a stack of papers in his folder. "… ah yes, the Power Rangers arrived to fight them off. They were successful in defeating the rogue machines, but the aftermath is devastating your company," he explained.

Mr. Collins cleared his throat. "Yes, many citizens are blaming us for the incident and have filed law suits against Bio-Lab," he mentioned.

"With all due respect, this incident _was_ your fault. You allowed innocent people to be changed into… things," he paused again. "But we're not here to point fingers and place blame. We're here to access your situation and see what we can do to help. As a show of good faith, I have a gift for you," he picked up a small box, handing it to Mr. Collins. "I believe you'll find it works perfectly now," he said.

Mr. Collins opened the box, amazed at what he saw. "The Quantum Morpher," he sighed.

Eric stood up. "But how, it was damaged beyond repair," he brought up.

"I had my top scientists at Luthor Corp take a look at it. It was years beyond anything we could have ever come up with, but ultimately, we determined that it was nothing wrong with the technology itself, the power source had been destroyed. We then replaced the power source with someone even more powerful," he said.

Eric paused, not wanting to mention anything about the Trixyruim crystal, the same crystal that powered the Q-Rex and his Morpher. "What did you use?" he asked.

"We still don't have a name for them, but the nice people of Smallville refer to them as meteor rocks. They're harmless to humans, but emits a certain radiation which, when harnessed properly, can be used as a power source," he explained.

"And where did you get these meteor rocks?" Mr. Wayne asked.

"I have my sources,"

"So what is it that you're proposing Mr. Luthor?" Mr. Collins asked.

"I'm prepared to offer Bio-Lab a complete 50/50 merger, giving you access to all Luthor Corp operations in exchange for the same. Don't think of it as a take over, it's a merger in the strictest sense of the word. Luthor Corp will provide you with the funds needed to repair your building and secure more personnel, and also settle any suits against your company," he told them.

"What's the catch?" Wes asked.

"No catch, just a mutual partnership. I'll be honest, the security at Luthor Corp leaves a little to be desired, and I've heard that your Silver Guardians are the best at what they do. I don't have all the facts, but it seems that Silver Hills and the surrounding cities here in California are protected by the Power Rangers. There is a lot of sensitive equipment in Luthor Corp, and I'd feel much better if I knew that the Silver Guardians and the rangers were there to keep it safe," he explained.

"So you want the guardians to protect your dirty little secrets, is that it Luthor?" Mr. Wayne asked.

"I assure you, none of the classified information at Luthor is considered a _dirty little secret_, but there are certain aspects of our company that we wouldn't want to fall into the hands of the general public," he glanced towards Mr. Collins. "Certainly you can understand our need for secrecy now and then," he said.

Mr. Collins gave Wes a quick glance, then turned back to Mr. Luthor. "Yes, I do," he sighed.

"What I'm offering is a multi-billion dollar deal. Our scientists will work hand in hand with one another, sharing information and developing new technologies that will…" he was cut short as Wes stood up.

"I'm not comfortable with the idea of our scientists working hand in hand with anyone. Everyone on staff at Bio-Lab have been valued employees for years, and we have a certain trust between us. I don't like the idea of having complete strangers with access to Bio-Lab's information," he said.

"I'd have to agree," Mr. Collins said.

"I can appreciate your need for secrecy, I do, but to be blunt, you don't have much of a choice here. Unless something is done right now, within a year Bio-Lab will be bankrupt. Lawsuits will continue to pile up, staff will continue to go unpaid, hospital bills for Silver Guardians who were injured in the battle will get bigger and bigger. Soon, you'll find yourself so in dept that you'll all be flipping burgers trying to make some extra money. What I'm offering is a chance to save your company, save your jobs and access to files at Luthor Corp in exchange only for your help in keeping our buildings safe and working with other scientists," he told them.

"I've looking over some of the ideas that his scientists propose. All of it seems very promising," Ms. Sloan said, making her presence known.

Now all eyes were on Mr. Collins as the each awaited his response. Wes knew that Bio-Lab was in serious trouble; he knew that without financial backing, the company would fall. Most of their personnel were injured, or worse, and the company's stock had fallen over the last few weeks. Those who were still working were there because they cared about the business, not for a paycheck, and with the lawsuits rolling it right and left, Bio-Lab's future was bleak. 

There was something about Luthor, something he didn't like. He wasn't sure if it was Luthor personally, or it was position they were in. Luthor Corp had them right where they wanted them, and there was nothing they could do about it.

It struck him as odd that Bruce Wayne was present in the meeting though. Wayne Enterprises was a well-known corporation, Wayne himself was a multi-billionaire. _'Why didn't Wayne make dad an offer?'_ he wondered. 

"Mr. Luthor," he paused. "You have a deal," Mr. Collins said, extending his hand to him.

"Excellent, I'll have my offices send over the paperwork to make it official, but until then, a handshake will do just fine for me," he said as they shook.

One by one, each of them headed out the conference room.


	53. Chapter LIII: friends and enemies

The three of them stood in the cemetery with somber looks on their faces, neither of them sure what to say to the other. Both Kimberly and Trinity had been effected by Jen's death, but Wes seemed to be taking it the hardest.

_'Would things have been any different if she hadn't given her life?'_ he wondered, wondering if he and Kimberly would have found another way out of the building…

_"Trinity, Alex, now would be a good time for a miracle," Jen said._

_'We've got a lock, but you have to get as far away from the generator as you can. There's seems to be an ionic flux coming from inside the room,' Alex told her._

_"Ionic flux? From where?"_

_'Unknown,' he said._

_"Its over rangers. We're all going to die in here," Frax screamed._

_"Wes, Kim, get to the opposite end of the room now," Jen ordered. Without saying a word, the two of them headed to the farther end of the room, holding one another. Jen reached for her Morpher again. "Guys, do you still have that lock on my Morpher?" she asked._

_'Yes, and the radiation levels seem lower where ever you're standing,' Alex said._

_'Captain, this is Trinity. The teleportation system won't be able to get all three of you. Maybe two, but that's all I can promise,' she said._

_"Understood. Begin teleportation sequence," she ordered._

_'Beginning transport… now,' she said._

_Jen quickly took off her Morpher, throwing it to Kim. On instinct alone, Kim caught up. "Goodbye Wes," Jen sighed._

_"Jen no!" he yelled, but he and Kim disappeared into a stream of light._

He hated it, knowing that saving his life cost Jen hers. He remembered a time when Jen and the other rangers came back for him, risking their lives to save him, but this was much different. This time, though she saved his life, he would never be able to thank her. Part of him thought that seeing Jen again would complicate his relationship with Kim; that seeing Jen would remind him of what he couldn't have, but it wasn't any further from the truth. In fact, seeing Jen one last time reminded him of how lucky he was to have Kim, to have their family. 

With a tear in his eye and clutching Kim's hand, he headed towards the tombstone. "Thank you Jennifer, for everything," he sighed, placing a pink flower on her grave.

"Are you going to be okay honey?" Kim inquired, wrapping her arm around him gently.

"Yeah," he paused. "Could you give me a minute alone?"

"Sure," she said, taking a step back, making her way towards Trinity. She and Trinity simply headed for the car, allowing Wes to say his goodbyes in private.

"I thought losing you when you went back to the year 3000 was as bad as it could get. I always thought that one day, I'd see you again. This time you're gone and you're not coming back, and I hate that I couldn't do anything to help you. I'm sorry I couldn't save you the way you've saved me so many times before. I love you Jen, and I always will," he cried.

~

"You think hes going to be okay?" Trinity asked, watching him from the car.

"I don't know, Jen really meant a lot to him. I don't know how hes going to deal with this," Kimberly mentioned.

She remembered having to deal with Tommy's condition, going to see him while he was cryogenically frozen in Bio-Lab. The thought of never being able to be with him again made her heart ache, but being with Wes seemed to ease the pain for her. She found it ironic that even now, Tommy's body was still in a restricted area of Bio-Lab under guard, yet he was able to travel back in time from the year 3000 to help them. _'I hate time travel,'_ she thought to herself, recalling her own personal experience with time travel gone wrong.

She knew that right now, more than ever, Wes was going to need her. _'I only hope I can be there for him the way he was for me,'_ she sighed inwardly.

(*)

Eric stood in the mirror, admiring the Quantum Morpher on his wrist. There was a short time when he believed that he'd ever have it again. When it was damaged during a battle with the Machine Empire, he was convinced that no one in Bio-Lab would be able to repair it. When Heather Zaskin and Tanya Sloan, the two foremost scientists in Bio-Lab, told him there was nothing they could do, he found himself prepared to give up his life as the Quantum ranger. 

Somehow, Mr. Luthor had been able to repair it, giving it a new power source. He found it strange that Luthor knew enough about the Morpher to repair it, and even stranger that he just happened to have a power source strong enough to energize the Morpher. _'That guy is bad news, I can feel it,'_ he thought. He wanted to express his concerns at the meeting the other day, but knew that the boardroom wasn't his strong suit. 

Besides, Wes would have said he was paranoid and dismissed it.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're more attracted to that Morpher than you are to me," Gaby said as she walked up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Well, the Morpher _is_ nice looking," he pointed out.

"Ha ha," she paused. "You're going to your new assignment tonight, aren't you?" she asked him.

"Yeah, they've got me posted at one of the Luthor Corp buildings on the south side of town. I'm tellin' ya Gaby, theres something about that bald headed bastard I don't like," he told her.

"He seems nice enough to me. A little secretive, but other than that he seems okay," she brought up.

"That guy is up to something, he has to be. Doesn't it seem strange to you that a billionaire would go through so much trouble to hire the Silver Guardians?" he inquired.

"I'd never given it any thought," she paused. "The guardians have built a solid reputation for themselves over the years, and if Luthor has something he wants to protect, its probably in his best interest to get the best security money can buy," she said.

"I guess,"

"Ya know honey, not everyone has a conspiracy against you," she mentioned.

He turned around. "What is that suppose to mean?"

"It means you always think someone is out to get you," she paused. "I know you've had a rough life, but…"

"You don't know anything about my life," he snapped.

"Oh come on Eric, don't turn this into a _feel sorry for me because I had a messed up childhood_ speech. I don't pretend to know what you life was like back then, but I _do_ know what its like _now._ You're a Power Ranger; you're in command on one of the most respected security forces in the world, not to mention married to the most beautiful woman on God's green Earth. What more could you ask for?" she asked him.

"I could think of a few things," he said, pulling her closer to him and wrapping her arms around her waist.

"So could I," she backed away, putting his red beret on his head. "But you've got work to do. Now go ahead and uncover a conspiracy for world domination and defend the city from the threat of the evil Lex Luthor," she told him.

"You're patronizing me, aren't you?"

"Who me? Never,"

(*)

Wes was sitting on the couch, going over the paper work he'd gotten from the meeting earlier today. Granted, most of the proposals Mr. Luthor planned for the company was in Bio-Lab's best interest, but that's what bothered him the most. _'According to this, Mr. Luthor doesn't have anything to gain from this merger,'_ he thought to himself. It seemed highly unlikely that a billionaire the caliber of Mr. Luthor would be willing to invest so much money into something without getting _something_ out of it in return. _'What is this guy up to?'_ he wondered.

"Hey Wes, you gotta sec?" a voice asked.

He glanced over his shoulder as Trinity walked into the room. With a smile, he put his paperwork in the living room table and motioned for her to sit next to him. "For you, I've got all day," he sighed.

She walked around the couch, sitting down next to him. "You know mom doesn't like it when you bring your work home with you like that," she paused. "Yet doesn't bother her when I bring home a pile of homework from school. How double standard is that?" she mentioned.

Wes cracked a smile. "Something tells me you didn't come in here to talk about my paperwork. What's on your mind sweetie?" he inquired.

"Now that Bio-Lab is getting back on it's feet and the Machine Empire is gone, things can finally go back to normal around here, huh?" she replied.

"It'll be a while before the Silver Guardians are up and running again, but yeah, it's only a matter of time now," he said.

"I guess you'll be wanting this back," she sighed, removing her Morpher and handing it to him.

Up until that moment, the red Chrono Morpher hadn't even crossed his mind. He'd had his mind on so many other things that he'd almost forgotten about it. He recalled when Jen gave him the Morpher in the first place; she was convinced that he was a big kid, more interested in having fun than fighting the mutants. It took a while, but he convinced her otherwise, and Jen gave him the Morpher. His thoughts then shifted to Trinity, who, in his absence, had been an excellent red ranger. _'It's the first time a woman has ever been a red ranger,'_ he thought to himself, recalling his mission with the other red rangers.

"Sounds like you don't want to give it back," he brought up.

"I know mom would never let me be a ranger full time, but…" she was cut short.

"Did you know your mother was a ranger when she was _fifteen_ years old?" he asked her.

"Really?"

"Yeah, her and your father were rangers. In fact, that's how they met," he paused. "Personally sweetie, I think you were one hell of a red ranger, and since I'm going to have my hands full with this merger, I'm not going to have time to do both. If it were up to me, I'd say you could keep it, but you know your mother is going to have something to say about it," he said.

"Why isn't up to you? Its your Morpher," she brought up.

He paused. "Because Trinity, I'm not your father," he sighed.

Though he'd been with her since she was born, and he'd been a father figure to her, it his heart he knew he could never truly be her father. It wasn't as though he didn't love her any less because of it, but he didn't want to overstep his boundaries by making such a major decision without talking to Kimberly.

"I know what this is about," she said.

"What?"

"You think that seeing my father the other day has changed things, don't you?" she asked.

He was convinced that seeing Tommy was going to shake his family up a little. After all, he'd been living in Tommy's shadow for years. 

He paused. "Didn't it?"

"Why would it? Listen Wes, Tommy may be my father, but as far as I'm concerned, you've always been there for me. We're family Wes, we always have been," she told him.

"Thanks kid," he sighed, wrapping his arms around her. "I'll tell you what; hold on to this until I have a chance to talk to your mother,"

"Thanks Wes," she said, kissing him on the cheek, then walked away.

(*)

Luthor sat behind his desk, taking a deep breath. "Ah yes, the quaint little city of Silver Hills," he glanced out the window. "Home to Bio-Lab, one of the largest chemical and developmental companies in the entire world," he said with a smirk on his face.

"Don't forget that Silver Hills is also the stomping grounds for the infamous Power Rangers," a woman said as she walked in the room.

Without turning around, he recognized her voice. "Thank you Alexis, but I'm well aware. That's precisely the reason I picked this ass backwards little town. Theres more to Bio-Lab than meets the eye, more to the Power Rangers than that windbag Collins is telling me, and I intend to find out all his secrets," he told her.

"But how? The Silver Guardians are formidable to say the least. If theres something Collins doesn't want you to know, its going to be very hard for you to find out," she said.

"You under-estimate me Alexis," he turned around. "Lets just say I have an inside source, and they've already told me even more than I wanted to know. And if I'm right, its only a matter of time I have an entire group of rangers under my employ," he said.

"You know I love it when you talk like that," she said, walking around to the other side of the desk and sitting in his lap.

She wrapped her arms around him, leaning in to kiss him, but he paused. 

"Did you hear something?" he asked.

She hesitated. "No. What?"

"I heard something outside," he said. She stood up as Lex headed over to the window, peeking out. 

"There's nothing out there,"

~

He was out there, lurking in the shadows. He was far enough away that Luthor would never be able to see him, but close enough to get a good look at him. The trees nearby, along with the sun going down gave him the perfect cover; he watched Luthor through a pair of binoculars, simply waiting for the right time to make a move.

It had taken him a little longer than he cared to admit to track Luthor down, and even a little longer to position himself. For a little over a week now, Lex had been formulating something, and he intended to find out what it was.

Just then, he heard _something_ behind him. Before he could turn around, he felt the barrel of a gun pressed against the back of his head.

"Don't move," a voice said.

Without a word, the mystery assailant hit a leg sweep, taking his attacker down. He finally turned around, getting a good look at his attacker. "The Quantum ranger," he mumbled. "I'm impressed,"

"You haven't seen anything yet," the ranger said, getting back to his feet and aiming a kick at the assailant's head. The assailant caught his foot, but Eric was ready, spinning around and connecting with the other foot, knocking the assailant into an open clearing.

As the assailant stood back up, Eric was able to get a good look at him. "Batman?" he asked in amazement.


	54. Chapter LIV: Realizations

**_*-* New Silver Hills, California * 3000 AD *-*_**

It was the first time she'd been to her quarters in a few weeks. On one hand, she was looking forward to it. After being stuck in the infirmary for weeks, she welcomed a change of scenery. Then again, on the other hand, her quarters were full of memories.

"Lights," she said as she stepped in, making her way through the living room and into her bedroom.

As soon as she walked in, emotions overwhelmed her. She missed _him._ There was still part of her that was waiting for him to walk through the door, part of her that was still convinced that it was all a dream. The past few weeks for her had been very confusing, slipping in and out of consciousness, it was hard for her to remember what was a dream and what was real.

She remembered how it happened though. _'We were on Zedd's ship, and there was a hull breach. Ransik tried to seal the hole and was sucked through,'_ she recalled. 

She'd dreamt about that incident over and over, being forced to relive it countless times. That was enough to drive her insane, but somehow, she was able to get through it. 

She flopped down on the bed face first, letting out a sigh of frustration. If the thought of losing Ransik wasn't enough for her, even before she was able to get out the hospital, Adam told her Jen gave her life to save the team. Now she was forced to deal with Jen's death as well, and she was beginning to wonder if it was too much for her.

"I can't deal with this," she moaned.

"Now that doesn't sound like _my_ baby sister," a voice said.

She sat up, only to see _him_ standing in the doorway. He looked different from what she remembered; a little taller, and he had a beard and mustache. 

"Khalil?" she mumbled.

"Don't act like you ain't glad to see me," he said.

She stood up, staring at him for a minute. It was almost as if she wasn't sure if it was really him or not. "I am, its just…" he cut her short as he wrapped his arms around him, holding her.

Without question, she simply melted into his arms. It was the first thing that _felt_ real to her the last few weeks. She took comfort in her brother's arm as tears rolled down her face. "It's been terrible Khalil. Ransik is gone, Jen is gone. I don't know what I'm doing to do," she cried.

"You're going to get on with your life, its what Jen would want for you. It's what Ransik would want from you too. They did what you would have done, give their lives to save the people they care about," he told her.

"I know, but it hurts," she sighed.

"I know Katie, I know," Khalil said.

(*)

Lt. Emery sat across from Tommy in the science lab, unsure of what to say to him. It didn't pretend to know what Tommy was going through, but isn't hard to imagine. First, he was snatched out of his own time and forced to adjust to life 1000 years in the future, then once he and Jen finally admitted their feelings for one another, she dies. 

He remembered reading about Tommy in the academy; most of his missions were required courses at Time Force academy. His role in history was well documented; one of the original Earth-bound rangers, the leader of the Zeo rangers and Turbo rangers, not to mention his mission to the moon to defeat the Machine Empire. Tommy Oliver was a living legend, and it was an honor to simply be in the same room with him.

"Is there something I can do for you Lt?" Tommy snapped.

That was enough to break Lt. Emery's concentration as he realized he'd been staring at Tommy the entire time.

"Oh, um, is there anything I can do for you sir?" he inquired.

"You can leave," he snapped.

He understood Tommy's frustration, and without question, he stood up and headed for the exit. He was about three feet away from the door when Tommy stopped him.

"Hey James," he called out, getting his attention. 

James turned around. "Sir?"

"Listen James, I didn't mean to…"

"I understand sir, I do," he sighed.

"No, I don't think you do," he walked over to James, putting his hand on his shoulder. "I'm beginning to wonder if I'm cut out to be a ranger at all. It seems like everyone I care about is hurt, or worse, and I don't want that on my conscious. Its more than I can handle," he said.

"Permission to speak freely sir,"

"Granted,"

"That's bullshit and you know it. I grew up hearing about the great Tommy Oliver; how you were the green ranger, the white ranger, the red ranger, how you were instrumental in defeating Lord Zedd, Rita, the Machine Empire, how you put your life on the line every time you went out there it had to be done. Jen knew what she had to do, and she did it. If that had been you, can you really say you wouldn't have made the same decision?" he asked him.

"I don't know,"

"Yes you do. You would have saved the civilians and gave your life just like she did. This has nothing to do with you; none of this is your fault. Your ability to be a ranger isn't in question; your ability to lead this team isn't in question either. If you want to walk away from this, that's your decision, but you can't use Jen's death as an excuse," James told him.

Tommy paused. "Dismissed Lt.," he said, turning his back to him.

(*)

"Check the pulse resonators. Make sure the isolation frequency isn't in a state of flux. The last thing we want to do is bring Jen back in a pile of goop," Camille mentioned as she went over the final details.

The two of them had been working non-stop for hours, making sure that everything was in working order. It had taken them a little longer to repair to the pink Morpher than they anticipated, and configuring the instruments to scan for Jen had proven a little more difficult that they originally hoped, but they were finally ready.

"All systems are functioning within normal specifications. I think we're in business," Trip told her.

Without turning away from the controls, she nodded. "Activate the pulse resonator," she said.

"Active,"

"Bring the isotronic scanner on line,"

"Isotronic scanner active,"

"Lets do it," Camille said, activating the scanning equipment.

The control panel seemed to hum as it worked, scanning through different time periods for Jen's temporal signature. Trip was beginning to believe that it was more of a long shot than anything else, that they're efforts would prove unsuccessful. He wanted nothing more than to find Jen and bring her home, but he doubted that she had been able to survive an explosion of that size. _'A cobolt device is enough to take out a city block, there's no way a person could survive the blast,'_ he thought to himself. He wanted to be wrong, he wanted Camille's theory to be true, but somehow, he didn't think…

"I've got something," she said.

"What?"

"Its very faint, but its something. The configuration matches Jen's temporal signature," she paused, going over the readings. "Confirmed, it's Jen," she said eagerly.

"Where is she? _When_ is she?" he inquired.

"I'm still trying to localize the readings, there seems to be a radiation signature present that I can't account for, but it looks like it's coming from the 21st century," she said.

"Makes sense. If a rift were opened, it wouldn't be powerful enough to send her back or forth through time. It was more of a rift in the space continuum, acting as a teleportation signal," he said.

"I don't think Jen ever left the year 2015. Based on these readings, she's there, but her signal is very faint. Her vitals would have to be pretty low for them to show up as faintly as they're doing," she told him.

"Maybe the radiation you're picking up is blocking her vitals,"

"Maybe, "

"So we hop in the time ship and go back there. We go get Jen," he said.

"I'm afraid it's not that simple. If we go back in the time ship, a vortex will open. If it does, it may counteract with the rift already opened in that time. With that much of a signal boost, the time ship could end up in the future, the past, another dimension, another reality, anywhere. Its not safe," she said.

"So what do we do? Chalk Jen up as a lose and keep going? If she's there, we have to go back for her," he said.

"But at what cost Trip? I know she's your friend, she's mine too, but she wouldn't want us to risk our lives and potentially alter the course of history to save her. Besides, even if we could go back, her molecular structure would be so damaged from the explosion that trying to bring her back through a vortex would kill her," Camille said.

He paused. "Dr. Young can treat her for that, can't he?"

"Yes, but to take such sensitive equipment and supplies through a vortex would alter it on the molecular level. By the time it got to where it was going, it would be useless," she said.

"Can we contact Wes and Eric? Tell them how to make the antidote?"

"We should talk to Dr. Young. Maybe he can give us a list of chemicals needed to synthesize the antidote in the 21st century," she paused. "But you still have to consider that none of us can do back for her. To do it would risk a temporal incursion that rift the fabric of the entire space/time continuum and destroy the universe," she said.

"Must you be so melodramatic about it?"

"It isn't melodrama, its fact. The barriers that divide parallel universes would merge, and the space/time continuum wouldn't be able to handle the strain. Worlds would spill into one another, causing a chain reaction that would unravel the tapestry of the universe," she paused. "Wow, that _was_ melodramatic," she sighed.

"But it sounds like the best chance we've got. I'll go talk to Dr. Young and see what he has to say about it. You should check in with Tommy, I know he's worried," Trip said.

"Meet me here in thirty minutes," she said.

Without a word, the two of them went their separate ways.

(*)

Alex walked into Admiral Logan's office, where he was sitting behind his desk. There was a monotone expression on the Admiral's face as he stared up at Alex with an unwavering look in his eyes.

"Alexander," he said dryly.

"You wanted to see me sir?" Alex inquired, taking a seat in front of the desk.

"I've known you for a long time now Commander. In fact, I remember when you graduated from the academy," he cracked a smile. "You were so eager, so wet behind the ears, so naïve to think that you'd be running the place within a year," he said.

"It took me two years to get promoted," he mentioned.

"None the less, though you've learned a lot from Time Force, I still feel as though you still have a lot more to learn," he told him.

"I like to think that Time Force has something to learn from _me_," he mentioned.

"That's an attitude I've come to expect from a lot of my best officers," he paused, standing up. "You know that with the counsel gone, even if Time Force does get back on its feet, we're still crippled. The counsel were our law givers, maintaining order in an otherwise chaotic environment," he explained.

"I understand sir, but there were times when…" he paused, allowing his sentence to trail off.

"Speak freely commander,"

"There were times when I thought they were a little too absolute. While I believe that the rules and regulations have their place, I do not believe that it's simply a matter of right or wrong, black or white. The counsel never allowed for the gray area, taking a look at individual instead of seeing facts and figures," he explained.

"That's what I was expecting you to say," he paused. "My rank as admiral gives me the right to make this an order, but I'd rather you agree to do something for me," he said.

"What is it?"

"The members of the counsel were from Kronos, in the Delgata sector. Kronos was responsible for granting us a lot of the technology we have now, teaching us to harness power. In exchange for that technology, we were assigned three members of their race to watch over us, to ensure that the power was being used correctly. The people of Kronos have assigned us three new counsel members, I want you to go to Kronos and retrieve them," he said.

"With all due respect sir, the Kronoian people gave us their technology almost 800 years ago. Since then, we've far surpassed anything they've ever come up with. I know that Time Force signed an agreement with them saying that they'd be allowed to watch over us to ensure we didn't use their technology incorrectly, but with the advancements we've made with the morphers, the slipstream, the time ships, the Kronian people should have no say so in what we do anymore," he told him, then paused, awaiting the admiral's response.

"Something told me you'd feel that way," he stood up. "You've come a long way from that snot nosed know it all who came into my office for the first time and insisted he knew everything there was to know. Time has been good to you, and your experiences have made you a much better officer. We haven't already agreed with some of the rulings the counsel made, and I for one feel as though its time for a change," he handed Alex a vanilla folder. "I just came from a meeting with the other admirals, and we all agree its time to modify our deal with the Kronian race. What happened to the counsel was unfortunate, but now is time for a change," he said.

"Sir? Are you…"

He nodded. "Yes, I'm offering you a seat on the counsel, a seat by my side. Together, we'll be able to amend some of old rules, make changes in the best interest of Time Force,"

"With all due respect, what about Temporal Investigations?"

"That came up in the meeting today as well. With the slipstream project and such a highly decorated group of rangers, especially with the additions of Lucas, Lt. Emery, Nadira and Lt. Park, we felt as though they would be able to monitor the time stream and prevent any temporal incursions. Times are changing Alex, and its up to you whether or not you're going to change along with them or get left behind," the admiral told him.

Alex stood up, sighing slightly. "Do you mind if I take some time to think about this?" he inquired.

"Not at all, but I need your answer soon. After too long, the Kronian people will be wondering why we haven't sent a shuttle for them, and I need to know what to tell them," he said.

"Understood sir,"

(*)

"Dr. Young, do you have a minute?" Camille inquired as she walked into the medical bay.

"Of course Lt. What can I do for you?" he replied, walking over to her with a clipboard in hand.

"Are you aware of the situation with Captain Scott?"

"Yes. I heard about her death, it was unfortunate," he sighed.

She glanced around the room, ensuring no one else was around. "Trip and I have reason to believe that Jen is very much alive, but trapped in the 21st century. We believe that the cobolt device we used in combination with radiation from the generator was enough to open a rift in the space continuum, and that Jen was sucked through," she said.

"Excellent,"

"The problem is, as long as the rift is still open, we can't risk going back in the time ship without making things worse. Besides, after being exposed to that much radiation, the trip back through the vortex would kill Jen. We need to know if an antidote for the radiation exposure can be synthesized in the 21st century,"

"I don't believe so, some of the chemicals needed are far beyond anything ever conceived in the 21st century. And with the chemicals being as volatile as they are, sending them through the vortex would be impossible," he said.

"We thought of that,"

"Perhaps you should find a way to close the rift already opened in the past, then concentrate on getting Jen back," he said.

"Even if we did close the rift, we wouldn't be able to bring Jen back with us. Trip and I have looked at this from every angle, we can't find a way to get Jen back without either killing her or destroying the barriers of the space/time continuum," Camille said.

"Well Lt, you may have to consider that Jen can never return," he sighed.


	55. Chapter LV: Realizations pt 2

**_*-* Silver Hills, California * 2015 AD *-*_**

"Batman?" he asked in amazement.

The two of them stared at one another for a moment, neither making a move. Eric had gotten back to his feet, and just in case, had his hand on the Quantum Defender it his holster. Likewise, Batman had a hand on his utility belt.

"You're an awful long way from Gotham City," he mentioned, finally taking his hand away from his weapon.

Batman moved his hand as well, taking a step closer. "Just keeping tabs on someone," he said in a deep, mysterious voice.

"Luthor?"

"I have a feeling he's up to something," he brought up.

"I knew it. I knew there was something about that bald headed bastard," the two of them ducked down as Luthor walked pass the window. "What do you know?" he asked.

"I appreciate your concern, but I prefer to work alone," Batman told him.

"I can respect that, but as long as that creep is in _my_ town causing trouble, looks like you're stuck with me," he told him. "Now tell me what you know,"

The expression on Batman's voice was unwavering. "Luthor has been spending millions of dollars acquiring small businesses over the last two weeks, all of them in the California area. He's looking for something,"

"What?"

"Probably your ranger technology. No doubt he plans to use him for military applications," he said.

"Who's your friend? You know, the one who was tracking him before you?" Eric inquired.

"Superman," he moaned.

"You mean like _leap tall buildings in a single bound _Superman? You've got to be kidding me. I thought that guy was a myth," he said.

"I could say the same thing for the multicolored spandex superheroes," he brought up.

"Its not spandex. Its cutting edge, state of the art, top of the line…" he paused. "You wouldn't understand," 

"I bet,"

"So are we going to lurk in the shadows or are we going to go in there and kick some bald headed Luthor ass?" he asked him.

"Patience. First I need to find out what he's up to. Then, we make our move," he said.

~

"Has our guest had anything constructive to say today?" Luthor asked as he turned his attention away from the window.

Alexis shook her head. "I injected her with the truth serum, but she still won't divulge any information. She keeps telling me her rank and serial number," she told him.

"You simply need to learn to be a bit more persuasive. I'll show you how to find out what we need to know," he said.

The two of them walked out the room and down a hallway. At the end of the hall were two guards standing in front of a door, but they quickly moved out the way as Mr. Luthor stepped inside the room.

With the exception of a light that shined down in the middle of the room, there was nothing discernable about the room itself. There were no windows, only one exit, and there was a foul, damp smell.

The light shined down on _her_, tied to a chair with her arms behind her back. Her hair had covered her face as she slumped over, no doubt from exhaustion and fatigue.

"Good evening Jennifer," he said, rubbing her head slightly. "From the looks of it you haven't been sleeping well," he turned to one of the guards. "Guard, would you be so kind as to remove this young ladies restraints?" he ordered.

Alexis watched on in confusion as, without question, the guard untied Jen's arms from behind her back. Jen rubbed her wrists slightly, trying to get the circulation in her arms going again.

"See, isn't that better?" he asked.

"I still won't tell you anything you need to know Luthor," she mumbled. Her voice was dry and cracked, yet the anger in her voice was still noticeable.

"I like that, loyalty. You can't buy loyalty like that anymore. But you misunderstand me Jennifer, I'm not here to get information from you. I'm here to release you. You're free to go," he told her.

Jen pushed her hair away from her face, revealing her bloodshot red eyes as she stood up. "What's the catch?"

"No catch. You've insisted that you won't tell us anything we want to know, so you're of no further use to us. We'll simply have to extract the information from your friends," he said.

"My friends?"

"Yes, Wesley Collins and his lovely wife Kimberly, who I believe are both former rangers no less. Since you're unwilling to tell me what I want to know, I'll simply have to persuade them to tell me," he told her.

"How?"

"This no longer concerns you, you can go," he said.

She sat back down. "If you promise to let them go, I'll tell you what you want to know," Jen told him.

"Excellent," Luthor sighed with a grin on his face.

(*)

"No. Absolutely not!" Kim snapped.

"Aw come on Kim, why not?" he inquired.

"Don't you _aw come on Kim_ me. No child of mine is going to be a ranger. She's only 16 years old Wes," she mentioned.

"You were 15 when you got your morpher," he pointed out.

"That was different. Those were different times,"

"How different could they have been? Evil forces threatened the world; you and your friends stopped them. Its no different from what happens now, except that the world isn't in any immediate danger," he said.

"I don't want Trinity out there risking her life to save the world. I don't know what I would do if something were to happen to her," she said.

"Nothing will happen to her. Trinity is one of the most resourceful people I know, and I have no doubt that she'd make a hell of a ranger," he said.

"She put you up to this, didn't she?"

He paused. "She came to me and asked if she could keep the Morpher, yes. I told her I'd talk to you first," he confessed.

"See, this is why I never told my parents I was a ranger. I kept it a secret, that way they wouldn't have to worry about me all the day. If they had known I was out saving the world they would have grounded me," she said.

"Trinity deserves to make her own destiny Kim. We have to give her the freedom to decide what she wants," Wes said.

She punched him in the arm. "I hate it when you make sense," she sighed. "I guess she could…" she was cut short as Trinity rushed into the room.

"Wes, its for you," she said, handing him the Chrono Morpher.

_'Wes, are you there?' _a voice asked.

"Trip, is that you?"

_'The one and only. Listen, we need your help,'_ he said.

"Anything I can do, just name it,"

_'Our sensors indicate that the radiation from the cobolt device and the radiation from the generator in Frax' warehouse was enough to open a rift in the space continuum. We believe that after you and Kimberly teleported out, Jen was sucked through that rift,'_ he said.

"You mean shes still alive?"

_'We believe so. Because of the rift, we're unable to travel back to your time to find out. Coming back would open the rift further, doing serious damage to the continuum. We need you to close the rift,'_

"But how?"

'About a year ago we had to close a rift similar to this one, we used an inverse ion change to seal the rift. I can't send you any equipment, but I'm downloading the information you need to your Morpher now. You should be able to find all the components you need to build the ion charge. Once you do, contact me and we'll be able to travel to your time again,'

"But what about Jen?"

_'That's another problem. Her exposure to the radiation makes it impossible for us to bring her back without altering her DNA on a bio-cellular level. Coming through another vortex would kill her, and that's assuming she's still alive,'_ he said.

"I'll get to work on that ion charge as soon as I have all the information," Wes told him.

'Thanks Wes. I'll be in touch,' 

"Kim, get Gabrielle on the phone and see what time Eric's new assignment is over. I'm going to head to Bio-Lab to round up the parts we need to build this ion charge," he said.

"Don't you mean _we_?" Trinity asked.

"No, I meant _me,_"

"Face it Wes, you wouldn't know an ion charge if it jumped up and bit you on the…" she paused, noticing the evil glaze in her mother's eyes. "… um, nose. You're going to need me and Theo for this one," she said.

"I'm sure Dr. Zaskins and Ms. Sloan will be able to deal with it," he paused. "But you never know when I might need an extra hand out there. Trinity, you come with me," he said.

"I thought you'd never ask,"

"I'll have Eric contact you as soon as I know something," Kim said.

"Thanks beautiful," he said as he leaned down, kissing her warmly on the lips, then headed out the front door.

~

"A plasma manifold? An EM broadband calibrator? Most of the stuff on your list is about fifty years ahead of my time Wes. I doubt even Zordon would know what some of this stuff is," Ms. Sloan told him as she reviewed the list of items.

"Come on Tanya, isn't there something you can do?" he asked.

"I'd love to help, but this is years beyond me,"

"Can you think of anyone who might be able to help me with this?" he inquired.

"I've been reviewing some of the files we got from Luthor Corp, and they're stuff is far ahead of our research, but still not even close to the level of technology you're looking for,"

"What about Wayne?" Trinity asked.

"What about him?"

"You said he was at the meeting the other day, so he must be interested in whats going on. You should contact him, see if he has anything we can use," she suggested.

He glanced at Tanya.

"She may be on to something there. Wayne Enterprises is on the cutting edge these days, he might be able to help you," she said.

"But I don't want to run the risk of telling him too much and altering the time stream," he said.

"If we don't do something soon, that rift is going to get bigger. We have to stop it now before its too late," Trinity said.

"Tanya, see if you can contact Bruce Wayne," he said.

"I'm on it,"

(*)

The two of them stood outside the building as the sun went down, waiting to make their move. There were four armed guards at the entrance, two on both sides, and all of them with huge weapons in hand.

Eric had the Quantum Defender in hand and was ready to storm in, but Batman grabbed his arm, holding him back.

Without a word, Batman tossed a small sphere towards the door. When the guards turned their attention to it, it exploded and smoke blinded them. Once the smoke cleared, all four guards were unconscious.

"You're good," Eric admitted.

"Come on," he said, heading for the entrance.

The two of them headed inside; going down the first hallway they came to. At the end of the hall was an intersection. "You go left, I'll take right," he said.

Batman nodded, and they went in their separate directions. Eric cautiously walked down the long, dark hall, but was cut off by a guard. Before he had a chance to make a move, Eric swung a right hand. The guard caught it, but Eric spun around, hitting a sweep. As the guard hit the ground, Eric kicked his weapon away, aiming the Quantum Defender at him.

"You won't do it. You don't have the…" he was cut short as Eric fired, connecting in the chest.

"You don't know me very well, do you?" he mentioned, continuing on his way. The hall itself had doors on either side, but one door seemed to have a green glow coming through the cracks. He made his way towards the door, kicking it in and storming in.

The entire room was glowing green, and _he_ was in the middle of the room tied to a chair. "Superman?" Eric mumbled, putting the Quantum Defender back in its holster and rushing over to Superman.

Before he could untie him, a group of guards charged it, all of them with weapons in hand. "Stay where you are Quantum Ranger," one of them said.

With nowhere to go, Eric put his hands up over his head. As the guards walked towards him, he jumped up, grabbing a pipe on the ceiling, using it to pull himself up and wrap his legs around the guard's head. Another guard aimed his weapon at Eric, but he kicked it out his hand, and then did a back flip, landing on his feet. Two more guards grabbed him from behind, but he kicked back, and then fired the Quantum Defender, knocking one of them up against the wall.

"Quickly, the lights," Superman mumbled.

Eric glanced up only to discover that the lights weren't lights at all, but long strips of glowing green rocks, lined up all around the room. He aimed the Quantum Defender at the rocks, blasting them. After a few shots, most of the rocks were destroyed and the room was completely dark.

He couldn't see a thing, but could hear someone coming. He aimed the Defender towards the door as he helped Superman back to his feet, putting his arm over his shoulder. Just then, smoke filled the room.

"Come on," a voice said.

They glanced up as a window broke, and a grappling hook latched onto the edge. Through the smoke he was able to see Batman climb through the window, and following suit, he put Superman over his shoulder and climbed up the grappling hook as well.

As soon as he got outside, Batman took Superman off Eric's shoulders. "I need to get him back to the Batcave to treat him. Thanks again for your help," he told him, disappearing into the shadows.

_'Eric. This is Wes, come in,'_ a voice said.

Eric reached for his Morpher. "I hear ya Wes. What's up?" 

_'Jen is alive. When the reactor exploded, it opened a rift in time and sucked her through. Trip contacted me and told me how to close the rift, but we have to get in touch with Bruce Wayne to get some of the equipment we need before he can do anything. I need you to come to Gotham with me,'_ he said.

"It just so happens I know someone in Gotham," he said with a smirk on his face.


	56. Chapter LVI: Secrets pt 1

Lex leaned back in his chair, kicking his feet up on the desk, then pressed play on the tape:

_"I'll tell you what you want to know," Jen said._

_"Excellent," he hesitated. "Who are you and where do you come from?" he inquired._

_"I am Captain Jennifer Scott from Time Force, and I'm from what you would consider the future. The 31st century," she said._

_"And how did you arrive here?"_

_"In a time ship."_

_"Why do you travel through time?"_

_"Our mission is to correct incursions in the time line, prevent people like you from altering history," she told him._

_"So you've traveled to our time period on more than one occasion,"_

_"Yes, several times in fact. At any given moment, there are at least a half dozen Time Force officers traveling back and forth through time,"_

_"And the technology you use to transform into rangers come from the future as well?" he asked her._

_"Yes."_

_"How does it work?"_

_"The Morpher opens a slight rift in the space/time continuum, where our uniforms and most of our weapons and equipment is stored until needed. When we signal for them, our clothes replace our ranger uniforms in the rift," she explained._

_"And what are the ranger uniforms themselves made of? What type of material?" he asked her._

_"A type of rare alloy that is indigenous to the Torias Sector. Time Force acquired it during a first contact mission to the Solarian home world," she said._

_"Well aren't you just the little trekkers? Roaming through space and collecting things to serve your own purpose," he paused. "Where is your Morpher?" he asked her._

_"I'm not a power ranger, just an explorer. Nothing more,"_

_"Tell me, how can I construct a Morpher here and now?"_

_"Unless you plan on taking a ship to the Torias sector anytime soon, I'd say you couldn't. The government in this era have tried countless times but none of them were successful. The only working prototype is…" she stopped, allowing her sentence to trail off._

_"Where? Where is the prototype?"_

_"A few years back, your time, Bio-Lab was able to construct a replica of the Quantum Morpher. It was highly experimental, but it gave the user unbelievable strength and agility," she said._

_"What happened to it?"_

_"Its still at Bio-Lab under heavy guard. Mr. Collins was worried that it might fall into the wrong hands, so he had it locked away until the day when it may be needed again," Jen told him._

_"Excellent Jennifer. Thank you,"_

_"Are you going to let my friends and I go now?" she asked._

_"No, I have a special assignment for you. You're going to escort me into Bio-Lab and get me this experimental Morpher," he said._

_"And if I don't?"_

_"Then you and your friends will be of no further use to me, and I'll dispose of you accordingly. However, I am willing to make you an offer," he said._

_"What kind of offer?"_

_"My scientists are going to need guidance in duplicating the prototype, and I can think of no better person than a rogue Time Force soldier. You help me get the Morpher and successful duplicate it, and I will not only release your friends, but I will offer you a place at my side when the time comes," he said._

_"You won't me to betray Time Force and work for you so you can alter history, and no doubt take over the entire world, right?" she asked._

_She paused. "If you try to double cross me, I'll have Time Force hunt you down,"_

_"There's no need for idol threats Captain. I may be a lot of things, but among those things is a man of my word. You help me get the Morpher, and when I have established myself as the dominating force on the planet, you will stand beside me second to no one. The world will be ours, and together, we will forge a new history," he explained._

_"You've got a deal,"_

He quickly pressed stop on the tape, and then turned to Alexis, who was sitting on the other side of the desk.

"So what do you think?" he asked her.

"I think this bitch will betray you the second she gets the chance. If you're going to believe that she's going to walk into Bio-Lab and bring you this… this Morpher thing, then just hand it over to you, you're a…" she was cut short.

"Of course she wouldn't. She'd no doubt use the Morpher to come after me, which is why I'm going with her," Luthor said.

"You really think this is going to work?"

"Yes, I do. Once I have the Morpher and she helps our scientists replicate them, we'll dispose of her as well," he said.

Alexis smiled.

*

"Do you really think it's a good idea to leave Trinity and Theo behind to protect the city? Luthor might try something," Eric said as he and Wes climbed in the truck, closing the doors.

"They'll be fine. We're only going to be in Gotham City for a day. Besides, Trinity has the Morpher, she'll be okay," he told him.

Eric started the truck, and the two of them pulled out the parking lot. "I've been meaning to ask you Collins, how you holdin' up?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Seeing Jen die must have been tough for you, and now to hear that she may still be alive, its gotta be eatin' you alive. I just wanted to know if you were holdin' up okay," he said.

"Oh Eric, I didn't know you cared,"

"_Cared_ is too strong a word, concerned is more like it," he corrected.

Wes cracked a smile. He was right though, knowing that Jen gave her life to save him had taken a toll on him. The thought of not being able to help her was enough to drive him crazy, so when Trip contacted him and said there may be a way to save her, he jumped at the chance.

"I'm good,"

"I hope so, the last thing I need is you having a nervous breakdown or something," Eric said.

~

Trinity stared out the window. She found herself wondering how her life would have been like if her father was never injured and put in Cryogenic suspension. _'Would he have been a better father than Wes was?'_ she wondered. Her entire life, Wes had been wonderful to her. Though it was common knowledge that Wes was not her bio-logical father, there were times when she easily forgot that. Whenever there was a problem, or she just needed to talk, Wes would stop whatever he was doing to talk to her. He was everything a father was suppose to be, and there were times when she forgot that her _real_ father was locked away in a freezer somewhere.

_'Real father,'_ she sighed inwardly, wondering how she came up with that definition. True, Tommy Oliver was her father, she knew that. She was convinced that if things had been different, and he wasn't injured, he would have been the father she needed him to be, but there was no way to know for sure. All she _did_ know was that Wes _was_ the father she needed him to be, and she loved him for it.

"Ms. Hart," she heard a voice say, breaking her train of thought.

She glanced up, only to find herself in class. Not only was the entire class staring at her, so was the history teacher.

"Are you still with us Trinity?" the teacher asked. 

"Oh, sorry Ms. Enrile," she sighed.

Just then, the bell rang, and the class quickly gathered their belongings and headed for the door. Trinity picked up her book bag and headed for the door.

"Trinity, can you stay a moment?" the teacher asked her.

Trinity let out a sigh of frustration, but nonetheless stayed behind while the rest of the students headed out.

"What's up Ms. E?" Trinity inquired.

"You've been missing a lot of days in school the last few weeks, and when you are in class you seem distracted. You're very bright, and I'd hate to see you waste your potential by daydreaming your life away," she said.

"I'm not, really. I've just been…" she paused. "Busy,"

It was at that moment that Ms. Enrile noticed the Morpher on Trinity's wrist. Though she knew what it was, she remained silent about it. "I bet you have. You know, I use to be _busy_ myself, but I still found time for my schoolwork. I know what you're doing is important, but you won't be doing it forever, and when the time comes, I want you to have something you can fall back on," she explained.

"Somehow I doubt you were as busy as I am these days," she said.

"You'd be surprised," she smiled. "Go do what you have to do, but I hope that you take what I said into consideration. In the mean time, I'll talk to your other teachers and let them know that you're _busy_ and they need to bare that in mind over the next few weeks," she said.

"Thanks Ms. E, really,"

"Anytime," she smiled as Trinity walked out the room.

~

Trinity walked into the hallway, where Theo was waiting for her.

"What did Ms. Enrile want?" he asked her.

"Nothing much. You know, I never realized how cool she was until just now," she said.

"Maybe if you went to class for often,"

"Yeah, maybe,"

"Still no word for Wes and Eric yet?"

"Nope."

"I've been working on the teleportation system, and I think I've got it down. I'm going to do some initial testing tonight, but it should be completely operational by tomorrow," he said.

"Great. I'm doing to covert operations thing tonight. Gotta keep tabs on Luthor and make sure he doesn't try anything stupid," she said.

"It's a good thing Wes left you the Morpher," he said, leaning in closer so no one else would hear him.

"Yeah, but I don't think mom is gonna let me keep it. But we'll worry about that later, right now I just hope Wes and Eric get back in time with the stuff we need," she said.

"I'll catch up with you tonight," he said.

She nodded, and the two of them went their separate ways. Ms. Enrile waited until they were gone to peek around the corner, cracking a smile.

*

"Welcome to Gotham City," Eric said as they pulled into the parking lot of Wayne Enterprises.

"Its much bigger than I imagined it. A lot of buildings," Wes pointed out.

"Well take a picture, we got business," he said as they got out the truck, making their way into the building.

As soon as they walked in, the receptionist, who was sitting behind her desk in the middle of the room, greeted them. "Good evening gentleman, how may I help you?" she asked them.

"We're here to see Mr. Wayne,"

"Do you have an appointment?" she inquired.

"Um, no, but I'm sure…" Wes was cut short.

"Mr. Wayne is an extremely busy man. You should make an appointment during regular business hours," she said.

Eric took a step forward. "Listen lady, we don't have time for this. This is a matter of national security," he said.

"All the more reason you should have an appointment,"

It was Wes who walked over to her, pulling out his identification and flashing it at her quickly. "My name is Commander Wesley Collins from the Silver Guardians, I appreciate your position ma'am, but understand that it's imperative that we speak to Mr. Wayne," he told her.

"And I would appreciate it if you had an appointment," she said firmly.

"Let me shoot her Wes, just once," Eric said, reaching for his standard issue Silver Guardian disrupter.

"That won't be necessary. Let them through Sheryl," a voice said.

They glanced up and saw _him_ standing in the elevator. "I had no idea you were expecting them Mr. Wayne, I apologize," the receptionist said.

He simply nodded as Wes and Eric walked over to the elevator, getting inside.

"Mr. Collins, Mr. Myers, its good to see you again. What brings you all the way to Gotham?" Mr. Wayne asked as the elevator began to move.

"I'm going to be honest with you Mr. Wayne, we need certain equipment, equipment that only you have," Wes said.

"What kind of equipment?" he asked. Wes reached in his pocket, pulling out a list and handed it to him. The elevator doors opened, and Mr. Wayne walked out, never taking his eyes off the list. Wes and Eric quietly followed behind him. They eventually came to his office, closing the door behind them. "This is an impressive list of equipment here. I have to ask, what are you intending to build?"

Wes paused. "Can you keep a secret Mr. Wayne?" he replied.

"I've been known to keep a secret or two in my day," he said, cracking a smile.

"We have reason to believe that there is a rift in the space/time continuum, a rift caused by radiation from the reactor explosion not too long ago. If this rift is allowed to stay open, it may weaken the barriers of the entire continuum," he said.

"And what proof do you have of this rift being open?"

"I was there sir, when the reactor exploded. I was able to get out in time, but my friend wasn't. She was sucked through the rift, and to prevent anyone else from being pulled through the rift, we have to seal it,"

"From the parts you've asked for, I'd say you were trying to build an inverse ionic pulse," he said.

"Yes," Wes said.

Mr. Wayne sat down behind his desk, putting the list down. "Do you know why I didn't make your father an offer for Bio-Lab at the meeting?" he inquired.

"No sir,"

"Because although I believe that we all have secrets that we need to keep to ourselves, I don't believe there should be secrets in business. If we were to go into business together, I need to know that all your cards are on the table and that you're being honest with me. Your father couldn't offer me that," he said.

"So what if _I_ offered it?"

"Then we'd talk,"

"Wes, no," Eric said.

"Sorry Eric, I have to," he turned to Mr. Wayne. "It all started in the year 2001…"


	57. Chapter LVII: Secrets pt 2

"I'm tellin' you Lex, this isn't going to work," Alexis told him. "She's leading you into a trap, I can feel it,"

"Would you relax? What could possibly happen? I'm going with her to retrieve the Morpher, that way I can ensure that nothing goes wrong. Once I have the Morpher in my possession, I will personally bring it back to Lex Corp to begin mass production," he explained.

"I don't think you can trust her,"

"And I don't. Once I have what I came for, you can do whatever you'd like to her,"

"Really?"

"Yes. Kill her slowly if you want, I don't care," he told her.

"Thanks Lex," she said with a devious smile.

The two of them walked into the room, where Jen was working in front of a small computer panel. She heard them come in, but chose to ignore them and continue with her work.

"Are you done?" Lex inquired.

"No, I still need to calibrate the…" she was cut short.

"Spare me the techno-babble and tell me when it's going to be finished,"

"Contacting the future it is a tricky business, it has to be done just right. Now shut up and let me finish," she said.

Alexis cocked back to hit Jen, but Lex motioned to her to stop. With a reluctant sigh, Alexis walked out the room.

"She doesn't like you very much you know," he mentioned.

"The feeling is mutual," Jen said, never taking her eyes off her work.

"She thinks you're going to betray me,"

"And miss out on changing history? That would be stupid,"

"What do _you_ have to gain from changing history? From your descriptions of the future, it sounds like a virtual utopia. No drugs, no wars, no violence, no crime, why change all that?" he asked her.

This time she stopped, turning around to face him. "Because all of those things come with a price. We work constantly, going back and forth through time to clean up other people's mistakes. I'm tired of being Time Force's puppet, I'm ready to change my own destiny," she told him.

"Spoken like a true anarchist," Lex said with a smile.

She turned back to her work. "I think we're ready," she said, turning on the machine she'd been working on. "Jen to Trip. Do you read me?" she asked.

For a moment, there was static.

_'Jen? This is Camille. Its great to hear your voice again,'_ a voice said, startling Lex.

"Same here, but I don't have time for a reunion. I need a favor," 

'Name it,' she said. 

"Bio-Lab has the experimental morpher locked away in a restricted area. I need you to access the history banks and tell me exactly where it is," she said.

'But why?' she asked. 

"I don't pay you to question my orders, I pay you to carry them out. Now find me the location of the Morpher," she said.

'Yes Captain. Stand by,' she told her. 

Lex had to admit how impressed he was with Jen, taking control of the situation. She was strong-willed, and he admired that.

'Captain?' the voice said. 

"What do you have for me Camille?" Jen asked.

_'The Morpher is being held on a secure deck after a half mile underneath the building. To access it, you'll need to get in the main elevator, then input the following code sequence: 60644 omega. That will gain you access to the deck, but once down there, there are other security precautions. A voice activated security system will ask for your voice print, and the only two people who have clearance for that deck are Wesley and his father. From there, retinal scanners will probe you, and only Wes and his father are authorized for the retinal scan. Once you get inside the vault, a fingerprint scanner will ask for a positive ID,'_ she explained.

"This is going to be a lot more difficult than I thought," Lex sighed.

"Can you tap into the systems and over ride them?" she asked her.

'No, the encryption codes are much too advanced for that. Even trying to shut down the system will result in an overload. Lethal doses of gas will leak into the main chamber and kill you instantly. But I can trick the computer into thinking you're Wes,' Camille said.

"Great. What about the retinal scans?"

'I'm going to switch the retinal files along with the voice identification. The computer will think you are Wes, so they shouldn't be a problem,' she said. 

"Good work Camille," she said.

'If I may ask Captain, what are you planning to do with the experimental Morpher? Its still in it's testing phase and it…' she was cut short.

"No, you may _not_ ask. Now make the modifications to the security system, that's an order," she said.

'Yes Captain. Summers out,' she said. 

"We're in business," Jen said, turning to Lex.

"Excellent," he said with a sinister look on his face.

(*)

"… and that's the whole story Mr. Wayne," Wes said, leaning back in his chair nervously. 

It was the first time he'd told _anything_ the whole story. When Jen originally went back to her own time, it was with the understanding that he wouldn't tell anyone about the future, what was to come. He even recalled being contacted by Alex shortly after, warning him of the potential dangers of revealing future events. But this, this was different. _'It was a necessary risk,'_ he assured himself, knowing that Jen and maybe even Alex would have done the same thing if they'd been in the same situation.

Mr. Wayne stood up, walking around to the other side of the desk as he buttoned his jacket. "There are a few things about your story that just don't add up," he paused, gathering his thoughts. "If your morphers are from the future, and…" his thoughts trailed off. "What was the name of the company?"

"Time Force," Eric mumbled, expressing his discontent.

"If your morphers are manufactured by Time Force in the future, how it is you were able to go back to pre-historic time to get the Q-Rex?" he asked.

"The Quantum Morpher was lost in one of Time Force's initial testing of the time hole generator. It accidentally ended up in the past," he said.

"But no effort was made to retrieve it until Eric came along?"

"I'm sure they made an effort, but without success. Even if they'd found it, they wouldn't have been able to activate it without the Quantum Morpher itself," he told him.

"And what's the story with _your_ Morpher? I know I wouldn't leave such a sensitive piece of equipment in the past, especially with the risk of it altering the time line," Mr. Wayne mentioned.

"As we said, the time line has already been altered. By Eric getting the Quantum Morpher, me being a ranger, Doomtron's attack on the city a few years back, the mutorgs, all of it has altered the time line in some way. All we can do is try to make sure there are no drastic changes," Wes explained to him.

Mr. Wayne remained silent as he walked over to a file cabinet across the room, using a key to unlock the top drawer, then pulled out a vanilla folder. "Wayne Enterprises was already aware of the rift in the space/time continuum, our scientists were looking into ways to close the rift before any damage was done. Thanks to you, we have what we need to close the rift," he told him, handing them the folder.

"What is this?"

"Its everything we know about the rift. I'd have my scientists work on the project, but we may run the risk of contaminating the time line. I think its best if you and your people build the ion generator. I'll have someone from the science department escort you to the labs, take whatever you need," he said.

"Thank you Mr. Wayne," he said.

"If there's anything else I can do to help, by all means let me know," he said.

"We will,"

Wes and Eric headed for the exit, but Mr. Wayne stopped them. "After all this is over and your friend is safe, tell you father I'd like to have a meeting with him to discuss the Bio-Lab/Wayne Enterprises merger," he said.

Wes smiled.

(*)

"There is it, Bio-Lab," Lex said with an eager smile on his face.

The two of them stared at the building, though it wasn't much to look at. Bio-Lab was still only partially reconstructed after the battle with the Machine Empire, with holes in the wall and a lot of fire damage. There were groups of construction workers going over the damage, doing their best to repair it, but it was far from done.

"You know it might not even be there anymore," she mentioned.

"We won't know until we go down there and check," he said.

With a reluctant nod, the two of them walked passed security and made their way into the building. There were a group of guards standing near the entrance to the elevator, who quickly cut them off.

"What are you doing here kid?" one of the guards asked.

"Well, Mr. Luthor and I are here to break into the lab and steal the Quantum Morpher," she told him.

"What?"

Two of the guards rushed at her with nightsticks, but when one of them swung, Jen grabbed his arm and spun him around, knocking him into the second guard. As they both fell over, Jen threw the nightstick at the third guard, catching him in the leg and tripping him, taking him down. One of the guards got back to their feet, but Jen caught a spin kick to the side of the head, taking him down.

"You _are_ good at this," Lex admitted.

"I try," she said.

With all the guards unconscious, the two of them stepped onto the elevator. Jen walked over to the keypad, entering the access code. As soon as she was done, the elevator began to move, taking them down. It took a few moments, but the elevator finally stopped, and when the doors opened, they found themselves staring down a long, dark hallway.

Lex was the first to notice beams of red light along the floor of the hall. "Infrared censors. Your contact didn't say anything about infrared censors," he said.

"That won't be a problem. Wait here," she told him, taking a step forward and jumping.

Jen managed to grab a pole on the ceiling, swinging back and forth to gain momentum, then let go. She did a flip in mid air, landing at the end of the hallway. She quickly reached for the panel at the end of the hall, ripping it out the hall and crossing the wires. Moments later, the censors powered down.

"You _are_ good at this," Lex repeated as he headed down the hall, meeting up with Jen.

_"Voice authorization please," _a computer voice said.

 "Heres go nothing," she cleared her throat. "Wesley Collins," she said firmly.

For a moment, there was silence.

_"Voice authorization confirmed. Welcome back Wesley,"_ the computer said as the door in front of them opened. The room itself was completely white. All the tables, the equipment, everything. 

"Its hard to believe that all of this went untouched by the attack a few weeks ago," Jen mentioned.

"Yes. Very impressive," he mumbled in a sarcastic tone.

_"Retinal authorization required,"_ another computer voice said.

Jen walked over to the small panel near the fault, wiping her eye then looked inside. A small beam of light passed over her eye.

_"Retinal authorization accepted. Hello Wesley,"_ the computer said.

At that moment, the door to the vault opened, and before Jen could make a move, Lex shoved her aside and rushed inside. "Where is it?" he asked, glancing around the room.

"It should be here," Jen said as she walked in. 

She headed to the far corner of the vault, pressing a small button in the corner. A panel opened, and a small plate slid out.

"There is it," he said, reaching inside and grabbed it.

The Morpher itself was much bigger than the original Quantum Morpher, and much heavier. It had a long, bulky design, with a series of buttons along the side.

"Somehow I imagined it would be a little smaller," she sighed.

"Never mind the size, how do I work the thing?"

"There should be three buttons alongside the Morpher. In addition to voice activation, the second button has to be pressed to initialize the…"

_"QUANTUM POWER,"_ he called out pressing the button.

There was a surge of power, and in a flash of light, Lex was transformed into the Quantum ranger. 

"Oh my God," Jen sighed as she looked on.

"I can feel the power surging through me," he said, laughing with sinister pleasure.

Jen paused. "So now that you have all this new found power, I guess you…" she was cut short.

"… won't be needing you anymore," he said as he lunged towards her, kicking her up against the wall.

Jen hit the wall with a thud, and before she could get back to her feet, Lex swung a right hand at her. She managed to move out the way, and Lex punched through the wall.

He struggled to remove his hand, and that gave Jen a chance to kick him in the chest, knocking him up against the opposite wall. As soon as he hit the wall, he jumped right back to his feet, reaching for his Quantum defender.

He aimed, but at that moment, his vision began to blur. Suddenly, his hands began to shake uncontrollably, forcing him to lose hold of the defender. It fell to the ground, and Lex himself fell to the knees in pain. "What… is… happening… to… me…" he moaned.

Jen got back to his feet, wiping the blood away from her lip. "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you that the Morpher is still in the experimental phase, and it was locked away because it sends a neurological shock down the spine of the user. It won't kill you, but its enough to paralyze you for a while," she told him.

"You bitch, you set me up!" he managed to groan at her.

"Oh, and you didn't set _me_ up?" she asked as she leaned down, snatching the Morpher off his wrist. Lex powered down instantly as Jen put the Morpher back into the panel in the wall, closing it. "Your time is up Mr. Luthor," she said.

Jen quickly put Lex over her shoulder, walking out the room.


	58. Chapter LVIII: Restoration

**Author's note: **_This chapter contains portions of "Back from the future pt 4" from the Parallels series, you may want to read over it for reference. Coming soon, _**POWER RANGERS: GENERATIONS**_, the final adventure in the Parallels series._

_~~~_

Wes and Eric stood aside as Gaby and Theo worked on the inverse ionic generator. Neither of them were willing to admit it, but the technology was way over their heads. Most of the equipment on the list Trip gave them were things neither of them had ever heard of, but they knew if it was going to work, they needed someone else to construct it.

Gaby was the single most intelligent person Eric had ever met. _'That's why I married her,'_ he chuckled to himself as he folded his arms, leaning up against the wall as he watched them working.

Over the years, he tried to convince himself that it had nothing to do with the visit he got from Tommy and Jen years ago:

_"What are you doing here?" Eric asked asked._

_"I can't tell you that," she said._

_"Both of you into my office, now," he insisted._

_Without question, the two of them followed Eric down the hall and into his office, where he closed the blinds and locked the door behind them._

_"We don't have time for this Eric," Tommy said._

_"Don't have time? Jesus, don't you guys have time machines? Make the time. I want to know what's going on. Why did you rob a convenience store and shack up on the sleaziest hotel room you could find?" he asked them._

_"If I tell you, it could alter the time line," Jen said._

_"If you don't tell me, I'll turn you into the authorities for theft. I'm sure two Time Force officers sitting in a SHPD jail would alter the time line too," he brought up._

_Tommy sighed. "We might as well tell him Jen," he said._

_"No, we can't."_

_"What choice do we have? If we don't, it'll ruin his chances," he said._

_"My chances for what?" Eric asked._

_"Don't say anything Tommy," Jen insisted._

_"Sorry Jen, I have to," he turned to Eric. "You know the girl you've been seeing for a while now?" he inquired._

_"Gaby?"_

_"Yeah, today was an important day for your relationship. You've been thinking about asking her to marry you, haven't you?" he asked._

_"Not really,"_

_"Well, you should, and today will be the turning point. The two of you are destined to be together, and your children will play an intricate part on the formation of Time Force," he told him._

_"My children?"_

_"Yes, that's why we're here. If you don't marry Gaby within the next year, the future as we know it will crumble," Tommy explained._

Eric wondered to himself if Jen and Tommy hadn't warned him about altering the time line, would he still have married Gaby. Gabrielle was everything he could have ever asked for in a woman; she was intelligent, clever, witty, not to mention one of the most beautiful women he'd ever seen. _'Hell, I would have been crazy not to marry her,'_ he thought to himself. Still, he wondered if he would have married her so quickly. 

Another thing that bothered him is that in all the time they'd been married, neither of them had even considered having children. Even though clearly explained that they're children would be instrumental in the development of Time Force, he never brought the issue to Gaby's attention. _'If she knew it was already written in stone, she might not have married me,'_ he thought, which is why he never told her about it. The pressure was too much for him to handle at times, and he knew they're relationship didn't need the extra strain.

_'Maybe it is time to think about having a kid or two,'_ he thought. _'After all, I don't wanna be 40 with a newborn,'_

"I think we're ready over here," Theo said, breaking Eric's train of thought.

He and Wes walked over to the generator, getting a closer look at it. "Okay, so how does it work?" Wes asked.

"The generator will emit a low level inverted ionic pulse, which should be enough to seal the rift once and for all. Afterwards, the generator should be dismantled," Gaby said.

"Why?"

"Because technology like this isn't meant to exist, at least not yet," Wes mentioned.

"Exactly. If the pulses were inverted again, it would be powerful enough to open a rift in the continuum that couldn't be sealed. The last thing we need is worlds spilling over into each other," Theo added.

"So what do we do now?" Eric inquired.

"You have to get the generator over the building where the rift is forming. It has a range of 100 meters, but we don't want to take any chances," she said.

"Okay. The three of you should get the generator over the warehouse," Wes said.

"And where do you think you're going?"

"I have to find Jen. She's here, somewhere," he said, walking out the room.

Eric shook his head. "After all these years he still has it bad for her," he sighed.

(*)

"So what will you do with Lex now?" Jen asked as she watched the Silver Guardians lock him in a holding cell.

"Unfortunately, there isn't much we _can_ do to him. Other than breaking and entering, trespassing and theft, there are no serious charges. With his political influence and connections, it probably won't even go to count," Mr. Collins explained to her.

"If he had gotten his hands on a working Morpher, he would…"

"… he would have had enough fire power to take out the entire city. That's exactly why that Morpher was locked away and under such tight security. One day we'll perfect the Morpher, but until then, the world simply isn't ready for it," he said.

Jen cracked a smile as she recalled reading in the history logs that eventually, Bio-Lab, along with another company that remained a silent partner, merged to become what she knew as Time Force. Together, they _did_ perfect the Morpher, which lead to the creator of the most successful Morpher; the Chrono Morpher. Of course, she couldn't tell him that.

"Perhaps one day you will," she sighed.

At that moment, one of the Silver Guardians walked over to them, saluting Mr. Collins. "Sir," he said, getting his attention.

"At ease Lt. Cooper. What can I do for you?" he asked.

"Commander Collins and Trinity Hart are here to see you sir, they're looking for…" he paused, getting a good look at the woman with Mr. Collins. "Jen?" he replied.

"Hey Max," she sighed.

Max himself had changed over the years as well. He'd worked out, getting a bit more in shape, and the beard and mustache worked well for him. In addition, he'd shaved his head bald, giving him a much more mature look.

"Wes has been worried sick about you," he said.

"Where is he?"

"In Mr. Collins' office waiting for you. I think they have news," he said.

"Well lets not keep them waiting," Mr. Collins said, walked out the room.

Jen and Max quickly followed.

~

As soon as Jen walked into the office, Wes rushed over to her, wrapping his arms around her. "Its so good to see you Jen, I thought you were…" he was cut short.

"Dead? I get that a lot," she said.

"Now that the rift has been sealed, you'll be able to go home," he told her.

_'I'm afraid it isn't that simple,'_ a voice said.

Trinity took the Morpher off her wrist, handing it to Jen.

"Camille. Is that you?" she asked.

_'Yep, and I'm afraid I have bad news for you. The explosion in the warehouse that initially caused the rift warped your DNA; a trip through a temporal vortex would disrupt your entire nervous system and kill you before you were able to get through the other side. Trip and I have been working on a way to send you the antidote, but sending it through the vortex would alter it on a molecular level, making it useless to you,'_ she said.

"What about a time ship?" Wes asked.

_'She'd still have to come through the vortex, and the second she entered the vortex she'd…'_ she was cut short.

"We get the idea, so what can we do?" Trinity asked.

'I'm afraid there's nothing we can do. Without the antidote, Jen will be stuck there permanently,' Camille told them.

"You know you're always welcome to stay here with us Jennifer," Mr. Collins mentioned.

She nodded. "I know, but there is a much bigger problem. Me staying here will alter the time line, history will be changed and the future will be destroyed," she said.

Trinity stood up. "I have to be the one to say it: don't you think you're being a bit cocky? I refuse to believe that you're that important to the future that the everything will be destroyed if you stay here," she brought up.

"I wouldn't have been so blunt about it, but she's got a point," Wes added.

'Wes, there are things about the future that you don't know. Your role in the development of Time Force is being shaped as we speak. The things you'll do within the next few months will determine the outcome for countless millions, and Jen's presence will disrupt that. If key decisions aren't made right now, at this moment, the world as we know it will change, and it won't be for the best,' Camille explained.

"So you're saying you knew this was going to happen?" Mr. Collins asked.

'In a manner of speaking, yes. The history logs are very vague, ensuring that we don't know too much about our roles in the past and how they will shape the future. Jen was meant to be there, at this moment in time, but her staying will start a chain reaction that will unravel the future,' she said.

"So what do we do? I can't come home to get the antidote, and you can't bring it to me," Jen said.

"Can the antidote be made here, in the present?"

'I'm afraid not. Most of the elements are made from binary compounds, most of which won't be invented in your time for another 50 years. Unless we can think of a way to get the antidote to Jen, and soon, history will change and Jen will die,' she said.

"Wait a sec, you never said anything about my dying?" Jen snapped.

'Your DNA has been altered, and unless it can be reverted back to its original state, the alterations will be enough to kill you,' she said.

"There has to be something we can do," Trinity said.

"I think I know a way," Mr. Collins brought up.

~

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Wes asked her.

The doctors laid Jen inside a module of some sort, connecting her to various machines as she nodded. "This is the only way Wes," she sighed.

"Part of me wishes you could have stayed. It would have been nice to have you around again," he brought up.

"Yeah, but you have a life here. A future. You and Kimberly are happy together, and I'd just get in the way of that. Besides, I need to get back to…" she was cut short.

"To Tommy?"

"Yeah. I love him Wes, the same way you love Kim," she said.

"But I still love you," he cried, trying to hold back the tears.

"And I will always love you, but we both knew it could never happen when we fell for each other. We're from two different worlds,"

"Kinda ironic that I ended up with Kim and you ended up with Tommy, considering that Kim and Tommy use to be together," he said.

She nodded. "Its poetic justice. We have a chance to be happy now Wes, and I suggest you take it. Kim is a wonderful girl," she said.

"And Tommy is a hell of a guy," he told her.

She reached up, wiping a tear away from his face. "Don't make this sound so final, you never know when destiny will send me this way again," she said.

"I know,"

"Goodbye Wesley," she sighed.

"You may feel a sharp pain in your lower back when the Cryogenic chamber is activated, but it will pass. Just try to relax," the doctor told her.

"I understand," she said.

Without another word, the doctor closed the lid, sealing it shut. Wes watched on as the doctors activated the module.

"You gonna be okay?" Mr. Collins asked, wrapping his arm around his son as they watched.

"Just seems like I'm always saying goodbye to her," he sighed.

"Things will work out Wesley, they always do," he told him.

*** New Silver Hills, California 3000 AD ***

The sound of her own heartbeat was all she heard as she opened his eyes slowly, only to find herself in a long, glass tube of some sort. She couldn't see beyond the tube, which was filled with a thick, clear fluid. Oddly enough, there were no tubes to supply him with oxygen, but even in the fluid, she was able to breath normally. From what she could tell, she was floating; unable to determine the top of bottom of the tube she was trapped in. There were other wires connected to her arms, chest, back & head, each of them throbbing with pain.

She tried to think back, trying to recall how she ended up in that position. _'There was an explosion…' _she recalled. _'I was hurt, this was the only way,'_

Through the tube, she could see a figure, but wasn't able to make out who it was. The image was blurry, and no matter how hard she tried, she wasn't able to determine who or _what_ was staring at her.

Just then, whoever it was, spoke to her. "Don't worry Jen, everything is fine now," the voice said.

  
The voice was soothing, comforting. It didn't take her long to realize who it was. _'Tommy,'_ she sighed inwardly, closing her eyes.

**_* somewhere in the past *_**

Alexis sat back in Lex's chair, staring out the window. _'I told that idiot that it was a set up. I told him that bitch wasn't to be trusted. He should have listened to me,'_ she thought to herself. She'd been with Lex from the very beginning; his plans to unlock the secrets of Bio-Lab's technology were his own undoing, but she was determined to succeed where Lex had failed.

_'Bio-Lab can keep their precious morphers. When I'm done with them, it won't matter. I will avenge you Lex, and I will defeat the power rangers,'_ she sighed inwardly with a devious grin on her face.


	59. Chapter LIX: X

"Are you sure we should be going on another mission without Jen? It just doesn't seem right," Camille brought up as the four of them stood in the science lab together.

Tommy, who was sitting at the control panel, turned around in his chair, facing them. "The doctor says Jen just needs a few days to get back on her feet. The procedure was a success and her DNA has been repaired, but sending her through another vortex right now wouldn't be a good idea. She needs time to adjust," he explained.

"Makes sense,"

"I've got Lt. Emery down there now checking on her, but I'm sure she'll be fine. I'll stay behind and try to give up some information on wherever you guys end up, and if I get an update on Jen, I'll contact you," he told him.

"Thanks Commander," Trip said.

"I told you, you don't have to call me that. That's a rank, that's all," he said.

"Whatever you say Commander Tommy," Adam said, mocking him.

Tommy turned to him. "Now _you_ have to call me Commander," he joked.

"Should we call in Lucas and Nadira for this one? This is our first mission in a while, we may need the backup," Katie mentioned.

He shook his head. "I have them working on something else for me, but if they're needed for backup, I'll call'em in," he said.

"Understood,"

"The targeting sensors have been recalibrated, but there may still be some glitches. With any luck you guys won't materialize inside a wall or something," he said.

"Oh yeah, that's comforting," Katie sighed.

"The timer one the vortex has been de-activated, so contact me when you're ready to return," he instructed.

"Got it,"

Tommy turned back to the control panel, activating the portal. "Good luck guys, and may the power protect you," he said.

Trip was the first to step through the portal, disappearing in the blue swirling vortex. Katie was next, followed by Camille and Adam.

(*)

The two of them sat on a park bench as they watched the sun set. The wind was blowing gently, so he quickly removed his jacket and wrapped it around her to keep her warm. She curled up in his jacket, feeling secure as he placed his arm around her, holding her close. 

She leaned over, placing her head on his shoulder, letting out a gentle sigh. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" she asked him.

Not that he'd noticed; he was too busy admiring her. He quickly turned his attention to the sky just as the sun began to set. "Yeah, it is," he agreed.

Just then, she noticed something in the sky. Whatever it was, it was difficult to make out. "Do you see that?" she inquired.

"What?"

"That," she said, this time pointing to it.

He strained to see, but eventually did notice something in the sky. "Whatever it is, it looks like it's getting bigger," he said.

"Do you think it's a falling star?"

"No. Whatever that is, it looks blue," he noticed.

Each of them watched on as it- whatever it was- got even bigger. Then it happened… a body fell out of appeared to be a hole in the sky, falling to the ground with a thud. He quickly got up, dusting himself off, and then glanced up as another body fell through, this time landing on her feet.

"What the hell is going on here?" the boy cried, staring at the man with green hair who seemed to fall from the sky.

The man walked over to him. "I'm an alien from the planet Zimthaw, and I'm here to suck out your brains and drink the juices," he told them calmly.

The boy and girl quickly got off, running away as fast as they could. 

"Come on Trip, that wasn't funny," Katie said, punching him in the air.

"Yes it was,"

Just then, Camille and Adam came through, landing on their feet as well. Camille glanced upwards at the vortex as it closed. "Looks like the targeting censors are acting up again. I'll take a look at them when we get back," she said.

"Where are we?" Adam asked.

"I'm not sure. From the looks of things, I would say this is the past, but how far back I don't know for sure," Katie mentioned.

"Freeze!" they heard a voice say.

They turned around only to see a group of men wearing military uniforms standing behind them, each of them with a riffle in their hand. 

"See, look at the camouflage, I'd say this was the early 21st century, just before World War three," Katie added.

"Put your hands where I can see them mutants. You are under arrest," one of the men said.

"Mutants? We're not mutants," Adam said, taking a step forward.

One of them men took a step forward, shining a flashlight at them in hopes of getting a better look. After seeing for himself, he turned to the others. "Lower your weapons men," he then turned back to Adam. "I apologize sir, but you and your friends shouldn't be out after dark. We have reports of mutants being in this area. You should return to your homes," he told them.

"Mutants? There are mutants here?" Katie inquired.

"Yes, and it isn't safe for you to be out this time of night. Now head home for your own safety," he warned her, and then walked away, signaling for the other soldiers to leave as well.

"I see we found another world with imminent doom written on it," Camille sighed.

"If this is the past, all the mutants should have been taken back to the year 3000 when we captured Ransik," Adam pointed out.

_'They were taken back, but this world is different. A lot different,'_ a voice said.

Trip reached for his morpher. "What can you tell us Tommy?" he asked.

_'From what I can tell, the year is 2005. The city has been plagued with mutants for a while now. There aren't any reports as to how mutants arrived there, but it seems most of them remain hidden. The government has been searching for ways to eliminate the mutant threat, but so far haven't even been able to determine where they're coming from or how many there are. Local news reports claim that some of the mutants don't appear to be much different in appearance than average people, but seem to have certain abilities,'_ he explained.

"What kind of abilities?" Katie asked.

_'That's all I can tell you for now. There is suppose to be a world meeting there tomorrow, leaders from every country in the world will gather together to discuss different approaches on how to deal with the mutant threat. Reports don't give much detail, but there is concern that mutants will attempt to interfere in the meeting, possibly even destroy the building. Extra security is being added to eliminate the possibility, but if these mutants can really pass as human, security might be enough to stop them,'_ he told them.

"If there are mutants here, it's our responsibility to stop them. We'll be at that meeting tomorrow, and we'll put a stop to these mutants once and for all," Adam said.

"The first thing we should go is find somewhere to stay for the night," Katie suggested.

"Good idea. Trip, you and Camille find us some accommodations. Katie and I will see what else we can find out about this place," Adam instructed.

With a nod, the four of them went their separate ways.

(*)

Trip and Camille walked into a convenience store, making their way to the front counter. "Do you have an ATM machine?" she asked.

"In the back," the man behind the counter mumbled, not even bothering to look up.

Trip headed towards the back as Camille grabbed a bag of chips off the shelf. Before she could open then, someone grabbed her from behind, putting a gun to her head. "Gimme all the money in the register or I blow this bitches head off," the man yelled.

Trip was about to make a move, but Camille motioned for him to stop. She was about to drill an elbow into his ribs when a red beam came from out of nowhere, hitting the man's hand and forcing him to drop the gun. He backed away from Camille, quickly running out the store in a panic.

"What the…" she turned around as _he_ walked over her. He was wearing a black leather jacket and a pair of jeans, but the first thing she noticed about him was his red tinted sunglasses.

"Are you okay young lady?" he asked.

"I'm fine, but how did…" before she could finish her sentence, the man walked out the store.

She quickly chased after him, but when she got outside, he was gone. With a look of confusion on her face, she headed back into the store.

"Geez, are you okay Cammy?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she mumbled.

"What just happened?"

"I don't know," she sighed.

(*)

"So what do you think?" Adam asked as the two of them walked.

"About what?"

"About Jen, do you think she'll be okay?" he inquired.

"Well," she paused. "Tommy was cryogenically frozen once too, and he made it out just fine. Jen is a trooper, I'll sure she'll be okay," Katie said.

"You sure?"

"Positive. The last time I checked, Dr. Young had taken her out of her containment module and she was responding to her treatments just fine. Its only a matter of time before Jen is back on her feet," she explained. "What I really wanna know is what mission did Tommy send Lucas and Nadira on," she brought up.

"It did seem weird to me that he'd send them…" he stopped dead in his tracks. "What was that?" he asked.

"What?"

"I heard something," he said.

The two of them stopped, listening as carefully as they could. This time, Katie heard something as well.

"Sounds like it came from over there," Katie said, pointing to a small alley.

The two of them rushed over to the alley, only to find _something_ struggling with what appeared to be a soldier. "Help me," the man cried.

Katie rushed over to the mutant, grabbing it, but it cocked back, knocking her over. She got back to her feet, hitting a spin kick to the back of the head, taking it down. The soldier stood up and reached for his gun, aiming the mutant. He fired, but Katie knocked the gun away, forcing him to miss.

"What did you do that for?" he snapped.

The mutant paused, looking at Katie strangely before it ran off into the shadows. Katie simply stood for a moment with a monotone look on her face.

"We're not in the business of taking lives, mutant or not," Adam said, picking up the gun and handing it to him.

"Do you think on of those things would say that if it had the chance to kill you? I get it, you're one of those damn mutant lovers, aren't you?" he snapped, walking away in disgust.

"What is it Katie?" Adam asked, noticing the odd look on her face.

"I don't think that mutant was trying to hurt him. It looked like he was trying to protect himself," she sighed.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I think there's something going on here, and those military guys aren't telling us the whole story," she said.

_'Trip to Adam,'_ a voice said.

Adam reached for his morpher. "I hear you Trip, what is it?"

_'Camille and I found us a place to stay. It isn't much, but it'll due until that meeting tomorrow,'_ he said.

"Good work. We'll lock onto your signal and teleport there now," he said.

She gave Katie a slight nod as they both reached for their morphers, disappearing into streams of light.

(*)

General Grayson walked into the briefing room, where there were a group of soldiers waiting for him. He headed to the front of the table, saluting all of them. The soldiers saluting him as well, then stood as ease.

"Report," the General said.

"We received word from the local police of a teenage boy and girl being assaulted by an alien in the park about three miles east of here," one of them said.

"An alien?"

"According to the report, the boy was confronted by an alien, who told him he wanted to suck his brains and drink the fluid," he said.

"I don't have time for teenage boys and they're high school pranks Lt. This is a trillion dollar military base of operation, if aliens had in fact come to Earth we'd know about it," he said.

Just then, the door opened and a woman walked into the room. "I agree General, but we both know that strange things happen in this city, things that can't be explained," the woman reminded him.

"Dana? What are you doing here?"

"My father called me in on this one. With the World Summit tomorrow, the mutant threat has to be contained. We're considered experts in that field, so here I am," Dana told him.

He nodded. "Monsters I can deal with, the occasional mutant, but aliens are out of our league. Besides, we had troops patrolling the sector all evening, and there were so signs of a crash landing, or anything out of the ordinary. Unless we have something else to go on, our priority should be protecting the world leaders for the summit tomorrow," he said.

"Yes sir," the soldiers said in unison.

"Is there anything else?" he asked.

"One of our patrols spotted a group of people in the park, not too far from the alleged alien sighting. Reports say they were wearing strange uniforms," one of the soldiers brought up.

"Were they brought in for questioning?"

"No sir,"

"We can't concern ourselves with that right now. Our main concern should be the summit; we should contact the Silver Guardians in Silver Hills, see if they'd be willing to lend us some support," the General said.

"Good idea," Dana said.

"If there's nothing else, dismissed," the General ordered.

One by one, the soliders filed out the room, leaving the General and Dana alone. 

"I have to admit, you look good in camouflage," she smiled. "Its good to see you again Carter," she said.

He walked over to her, wrapping his arms around here. "Same here Dana, it's been a while," he sighed.

"You know, I've been doing some research on the mutants, and I'd discovered that…" he cut her short.

"Oh come on Dana, not that again. Your father told me you were…"

"I was what? A mutant lover? I just don't think the mutants mean us any harm. There have been no reports of any mutants ever injuring a human, not one," she pointed out.

"What about the millions of dollars in damage done to the city over the past year? Mutant activity is on the rise, and the general public demand results. This is no different from our old ranger days. Banshera and her monsters attacked, we came in and saved the day,"

"There _is_ a difference. The mutants aren't planning world domination at all. Based on the transcripts I've read from mutants that have been captured and interrogated, most of them insist they simply want to be left alone," Dana said.

"What about all the reports from Silver Hills a few years back? The mutant problem was so far out of hand that they sent rangers from the future to deal with it. They were able to contain the problem, but it appears they didn't get all of them. My job is to ensure the summit goes off without any incidents, and if any mutants threaten that, I'll do what I have to do," he said.

Dana paused. "What happened to you Carter? Sitting behind a desk all these years have made you close-minded. All mutants aren't bad, just as all monsters weren't evil. You've been pushing pencils too long to remember what it was like out there, and…"

"That's enough Dana. I respect your father, and I respect that he felt you were needed for this assignment, but I am still the commanding officer here. If you compromise my mission, I'll have you locked in the brig," Carter told her. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir," she sighed.


	60. Chapter LX: X pt 2

"Thank both of you for coming on such short notice," Dana said as she stood from behind the desk, walking over to them and extended her hand to them.

Both of them were wearing navy blue uniforms, but only one of them was wearing a red beret, the other had on a pair of sunglasses. The one in the beret approached her, shaking her hand firmly.

"Its no problem. We understand how important the World Summit is, and we're happy to help," he told her.

"Besides, its good to you see you guys again," she sighed, recalling a time when she was ranger.

"Same here," the other responded.

"Eric and I have been reading over the reports of these alleged mutant attacks, and we've come up with something interesting," he pulled a map out of back pocket, unfolding it and laying it across the desk. "This is a map with all the confirmed locations of the mutant attacks. If you'll notice, all of the incidents are about a two to three mile radius of _this_ spot," he said, pointing to a spot in the middle.

"We think that these mutants are coming from this location, never straying too far away from their base of operation," Eric added.

Dana paused. "That can't be right. This location is a school, an institute for gifted children. The Xavier Institute," she told them.

"Well Wes and I think this Xavier guy is up to something, and we intend to find out what it is," he mentioned.

"What? You're going to storm the institute?" she asked.

"Storm is such a harsh word. I prefer to call it…" he paused. "Um… well yeah, we _are_ going to storm the place," Eric said.

"Without a warrant you're just asking for trouble. Professor Xavier values his privacy and will press charges on anyone who trespasses," she warned.

"That's why he'll never know we were there," Wes told her.

(*)

Adam leaned up against the wall, trying to comfortable… but wasn't doing a very good job. The motel Trip and Camille found was very nice, but there were only two beds in the room. Trip and Camille would obviously share a bed, but in an attempt to be a gentleman, he offered Katie to other one.

So he found himself on the floor, leaning up against the wall covered in a thin sheet, trying to get some rest. The room was completely dark, with the exception of the moonlight shining through the window overhead. It was very peaceful, very calm, but his discomfort was making it difficult for him to enjoy to peace.

He rolled over, bunching up the sheet to use it as a pillow, but it wasn't working for him. Next, he tried laying on his stomach, but without success. No matter what he tried to do, nothing worked for him.

"Adam," a voice whispered through the darkness.

He sat up, glancing over only to see Katie sitting up in the bed.

"Yeah? What's wrong Katie?"

"Nothing. Listen, this bed is big enough for two people, and you don't look very comfortable down there," she paused. "You wanna share the bed?" she asked.

Adam felt a lump in his throat.

"You mean, with you?"

"No, I was thinking you could lay in-between Camille and Trip. Of course with me silly. Come on, with both adults. We're more than capable of laying in the same bed and nothing happening, right?" she mentioned.

"Um, sure," he said, sitting up and making his way to the bed. He reluctantly climbed in bed, getting under the cover and laying down.

He let out a sigh of relief as for the first time that evening, he was comfortable. The bed was so soft, and his head just seemed to sink into the pillow.

"See, isn't that better?"

"Yeah, thanks Katie," he sighed.

For a while, there was silence as he simply layed there. "Hey Adam," Katie said, interrupting the silence.

"Yeah?"

"Do you miss her? Tanya I mean," she brought up.

He paused. "Yeah, I do. But she's happy now. She's with TJ, and they have a son. I'm happy for her," he said insincerely. 

He would never admit it, but coming to the future to help Tommy and the others wasn't his first choice. Part of him wished he'd simply died in that hospital. That way, he wouldn't be forced to live alone. _'Hell, everyone has someone. Jen and Tommy have each other, Lucas and Nadira are together, even Trip has Camille. Me? I'm all alone,'_ he thought to himself.

"I miss Ransik," she sighed.

He turned rolled over, facing her.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm a lot better now. At first, I was going out of my mind trying to figure out how to live without him, but I realized that if I spent my life mourning his death, I wouldn't really be living. I can accept that Ransik is gone and that I have to move on with my life, its what he would want. I think Tanya would want that for you too," she explained.

He cracked a smile. "You know, that makes a lot of sense," he said.

"I'm sure you'll find someone else… when the time is right," Katie said, moving closer to him and curling up next to him. "Goodnight Adam," she sighed.

"Goodnight Katie,"

(*)

The general stood on the runway as the plane landed a few hundred feet away. As the hatch on the plane opened, he walked towards the plane. Moments later, _she_ stepped out.

"Glad you could make it Commander Airheart," he said, saluting her.

"Thank you general. Anything we can do to help, let us know," she said as she removed her helmet, revealing his dark blonde hair.

"Honestly, we're going to need all the help we can get with this one. I've got a feeling something big is going to go down," he extended his hand to her. "But I feel better about the situation knowing you and your team are up there," he said.

She obliged him.

"I've got an entire squad circling overhead. Nothing is going to happen at this Summit without us knowing about it," she said.

"Thanks Taylor. It means a lot," he sighed.

"Were you able to get in touch with the Silver Guardians?" she inquired as the two of them began to walk, heading towards the base.

"Yes. Wes and Eric should be here by now. I heard that one of your former team mates joined the guardians after his run as a ranger was over," he brought up.

"Yeah, Max. He and Danny traveled around the world for a few months, but when he came home, he decided to join the guardians. I talked to him a few weeks ago, he seemed happy with his assignment," she told him.

"Good. Its good to know we have so much help for this one. The mutant threat is getting out of hand and the last thing we need is one of the world leaders being abducted," he paused. "Or worse," he said.

"That isn't going to happen,"

"Lets hope not Taylor," he sighed.

(*)

Adam opened his eyes slowly, only to find Katie curled up next to him. Her head rested comfortably on his chest, and he had his arm around her.

'What the hell?'  he thought to himself. 

Before he could move, he noticed that Camille was standing at the foot of the bed with a camera in hand. He tried to move, but it was too late.

"Say cheese," Camille said, quickly taking the picture.

The flashing light was enough to wake Katie out of her sleep as well. Once she realized what was going on, she jumped out the bed and lunged at Camille.

"Its not what you think," she insisted.

"Sure it isn't," she laughed.

"Come on you guys, we have to stay focused here," Trip said as he sat across the room working on something at the table.

"Hes right, we really should get down to business," Adam added as he sat up, putting his shirt back on.

"Tommy got in touch with me last night and…" he was cut short.

"Looks like Adam got in touch with Katie last night," Camille giggled.

"Shut up Cammy!"

"Come on guys, seriously," Trip said.

"Sorry," she chuckled.

"Like I was saying: Tommy got in touch with me last night and gave me some more information about the mutants we're up against. The story is that they are, in essence, human, but have a gene in them that was somehow stimulated. This gene, referred to as the X gene, gives them unique powers. Most of them are non-violent and just want to be left alone, but there are others who believe that the mutant race is meant to be the dominant force on Earth. The mutants are apparently locked in a civil war; one side wanting total domination of the world, the other wanting to co-exist with humans and live in peace," he explained.

"I bet you they call themselves something corny like 'The X Squad' or 'X Force'," Camille said.

"Actually we call ourselves X-Men," a voice said.

The four of them turned their attention to the door of the motel as _he_ made his way into the room. He was an older man with a baldhead, sitting in a wheelchair.

"Who are you?" Adam snapped, standing ready for action.

"I assure you, I'm not here to fight. I'm help to assist you in stopping Magento," he told them.

"Who is Magneto?" Katie asked.

"Wait a sec. Who are _you_?" Trip inquired.

"My name is Professor Charles Xavier. I am a mutant," he told them.

"You look pretty human to me," Camille said.

"Hold on you guys," Trip turned to the Professor. "What can you tell me about this Magento character?" he asked.

"He's the mutant who plans to disrupt the Summit today. You see, he's been preparing for this day for months, building sentinels robots to destroy the building where the meeting is being held," he said.

"What kind of sentinels?" Trip inquired.

"Machines capable of destroying the entire city if he wanted to, but they're primary function will be to destroy that building," he said.

"But why?"

"Most of the world leaders are voting in favor of mutants and humans co-existing with one another, which is what this Summit is being held for. If the leaders were to make a law that states mutants and humans are to be treated as equals…"

"Then Magneto's plan for domination becomes a lot harder with humans and mutants working together," Katie said.

"Exactly. His hope that is that if the world sees this building be destroyed by a mutant attack, the rest of the population will turn its back on ever bridging the gap between mutants and humans. It will start a war that the Earth will not survive," he said.

"And after the war, Magento and his armies will be able to pick up the pieces and overthrow any survivors without effort," Adam added.

"Which is why this has to be prevented here and now. The government is aware of the situation, but I'm afraid none of their weapons will be able to hold up against the sentinels," Professor Xavier told them.

"Problem solved guys. If these sentinels are Magento's secret weapon, we can just have Tommy send us the Megazord. I'm sure the sentinels won't stand a chance against them," Camille said.

"What is a zord?" he asked.

"Much bigger machines than Magento could build. I'll contact Tommy and have him send us the Time Shadow. We should get in touch with Eric too, he can get the Q-Rex to help us," Trip said.

"Wait a second. How did you know to come to us for help?" Adam asked, sounding a bit skeptical.

"I believe you met one of my associates last night, Cyclops. He assisted you in a robbery at a convenience store," he said.

"You mean the guy with the sunglasses?" Camille asked.

"Yes. When he informed me that he'd seen people in strange military uniforms, I thought it was reasonable to assume that Power Rangers had been called here to protect the Summit," he told them.

"Good call,"

"I will have the X-Men present at the Summit as well to assist you. If there's anything we can do to help you stop Magento, we will," he said.

"Thank you Professor," Trip said.

The Professor turned around, heading out the door. As soon as Adam closed the door, the Professor stood up, stepping out of his wheelchair as his eyes began to glow and eerie shade of yellow.

To be concluded… 


	61. Chapter LXI: X pt 3

The two of them ducked down behind a bush not too far away from the house, trying to prevent from being seen. They were security cameras all around the building, all of them rotating to cover more ground.

Eric pulled a small metal case out a pocket in his pants leg, opening it up and pulling up an antenna. The screen blinked on, and Eric began to input a series of codes.

"What are you doing?" Wes asked him.

"Courtesy of Gabrielle from the science department," he shifted the device, allowing Wes to get a good look. "These are the locations of every camera in the building," he said.

"How did you…"

"You ain't seen nothing yet," he paused, inputting another series of numbers. "I was able to shut down every surveillance system in the school. We should be able to get in there undetected," he said.

"When did you get all high tech?" he inquired.

"Come on Collins, get with the times," he said, motioning for Wes to follow.

The two of them headed for a fense, quickly climbing over and landing on their feet, then made their way towards the school. They leaned up against the wall as a group of children walked by, but managed to avoid being seen.

Once it was clear, the two of them opened a window, quickly climbing inside. Wes closed the window, but when he turned around, was standing face to face with _him._

"You two seconds to tell me what you're doing here, bub," a man said.

At first glance, he didn't seem too intimidating. He was an average build, average height, but Wes noticed three blades that seem to extend out of each of his hands.

"We're…"

"Times up," the man said, lunging at Wes, swinging the blades at him.

Wes ducked, and the blades went through the wall. Before he could move his hand, Wes kicked him in the ribs, followed by a sweep that knocked him off his feet. Eric pulled out his disrupter and aimed it at him before he could move.

"Looks like we're asking the questions now," he snapped.

The man reached up, slicing the disrupter with the blades on his right hand, actually slicing the disrupter in half. As the barrel of the disrupter fell to the floor, Eric reached for his Morpher.

"Quantum…" he was cut short as his Morpher seemed to fly off his wrist and remained suspended in mid air. "What the…"

He turned around as a woman walked towards them. Again, nothing too intimidating about her. In fact, Eric was quite taken by her innocent looks and red hair, but he would never admit to it.

"That's enough, all of you," she said.

"And just who are you?" Wes asked her.

"Save your questions for the Professor, hes been expecting you," she said.

The man with the blades in his hand stood up, dusting himself off. "You mean _these_ are the guys Charles have been waiting for?" he stared Eric up and down. "I thought they were suppose to wear spandex and helmets,"

"Who is the Professor and how is he expecting us?" Eric asked.

"All your questions will be answered Commander Myers, I assure you," another voice said.

This time, a man in a wheelchair approached them. He, like the others, weren't very intimidating, with a bald head and a emotionless expression on his face. "Jean, Wolverine, you may leave me alone with the rangers," he said calmly.

"But Charles, they…" he was cut short.

"I have nothing to fear from them Wolverine. It is okay," he sighed.

Reluctantly, Wolverine walked away. Just then, Eric's Morpher fell to the floor as Jean walked away. Eric leaned down, picking it up and putting it back on his wrist.

"You're all mutants, aren't you?" he asked.

"Yes we are, and I'm afraid that the World Peace Summit is in jeopardy," the Professor said.

"We've got the Silver Guardians surrounding the building and the air force in the air. Nothing is going to happen at the Summit," Wes insisted.

"Come with me," he turned around, making his way down the hallway. Eric and Wes followed behind. "The Summit is in no danger from me or any of my students, they're in danger from a mutant called Magneto. His intent is to prevent humans and mutants from coming to terms with one another and learning to co-exist. His hope is that humans will turn their back on mutants, starting a war that humans will not be able to win. We have to prevent that from happening," he said.

"So this Magneto guy, what's his special power? Magnets?" Eric scoffed.

"He has control over all things metal," he said.

"That would make Taylor's plane useless. In fact, he could use them to crash into the building while the Summit is taking place," Wes said.

"I'm afraid he has much bigger plans,"

"Like what?"

"An associate of mine has informed me that Time Force rangers are present and intend to stop Magneto using machines called zords," he said.

"Great idea. If Magneto does take control of the planes, I can get the Q-Rex to swat them out the sky," Eric said.

"I'm afraid you don't understand. Magneto is anticipating that your zords will be present. When they arrive…"

"… he'll take control of them and destroy anyone in his way. With the zords in his control, there won't be anything to stop him from destroying the entire city," Wes sighed.

"Which is why it is imperative that you do not summon the zords. To do so will doom the entire human race," the Professor said.

"So how _do_ we stop him?"

"The key to defeating him lies in his helmet," he paused. "My mutant ability is to read minds and manipulate thoughts, but his helmet protects him from my abilities. If we were able to remove that helmet, I would be able to use my powers to slow him down. From there, my students will apprehend him," he explained.

"I take it that's going to be a lot easier said than done," Wes said.

"I'm afraid so. Getting close to Magneto is almost impossible," he said.

Wes paused. "You know what? I have a plan that just might work, but I'll need to get in touch with Trip and the other rangers," he mentioned.

"My associate has pinpointed their location to a hotel room about twenty minutes away from here. I can make arrangements to have you taken there," he said.

"Wait a second… we're just suppose to take _your_ word for it? You could be the one behind all this," Eric brought up.

"If that were true, you wouldn't have made it onto school grounds. My students and I believe that humans and mutants should co-exist with one another and work to find ways to accomplish our goals," he pressed a button on the armrest of his wheelchair. "Kitty, could you meet me in the library? I have an assignment for you?" he asked.

_'On the way Professor,'_ a voice answered.

"Who was that?" Wes asked.

"I'm going to have Kitty take you to the hotel. I believe you'll find Kitty's talents very… useful," he told them.

*** New Silver Hills, 3000 AD ***

Tommy sat at the control panels in the science lab, trying to make heads and tails of all the censor readings. _'Geez I wish Trip and Camille were here,'_ he thought to himself.

Over the past six months, he'd done his best to adjust to life in the 31st century, and he had, but there were other things that he'd yet to experience. Granted, part of joining Time Force was learning how to operate most of the basic systems, but the Slipstream portal, and everything else in the science lab for that matter, was far from basic.

He was overwhelmed and he knew it, but was determined to figure it out.

"You're in over your head, aren't you Commander?" a voice asked.

He turned around and saw _her_ standing behind him. "Oh, its you," he sighed.

"I prefer to be called Admiral," she corrected.

"In _my _time, you're not an admiral yet," he pointed out.

"Fair enough, but I'm not here to fight with you. I'm here to help," she said.

"What? You're going to talk in riddles for me again? You can keep your round-about answers, I don't need it," he said.

"Take a look at this," she said, throwing a folder in his lap.

He quickly opened the folder, reading over the papers inside. "According to this, Trip and the others will be killed during the Peace Summit in the 21st century. If this is right, the entire course of history is going to be changed," he said.

"This one event is very critical for the future. Not just your history, but my history will be effected as well. It is imperative that things play out as they were intended," she said.

"With all due respect Admiral Summers, how do you know that _this_ is the way it was meant to play out?" he asked her.

"What you choose to do right now will dictate the course of history, and I'm here to ensure that you make the right decision," she explained.

"So what _is_ the right decision?"

"I can't tell you," she said.

"Figures," he sighed.

"Giving you foreknowledge of the future would alter the future, and I can't allow that to happen. You have a destiny," she said.

"I make my own destiny," he snapped.

"Yes, I know," she sighed, disappearing into a stream of light.

*****

The three of them pulled up in front of the hotel.

"Are you sure they're staying _here_?" Wes inquired, getting a good look at the place.

The hotel itself seemed run down, most of the windows had boards on them and there were bullet holes along most of the walls. There was a lot of fire damage as well.

"I suppose it was the best they could do on short notice," Kitty mentioned as the three of them walked towards the hotel.

"So why do they call you Kitty? Do you have the power to control cats or something?" Eric asked her.

"Actually, my name _is_ Kitty," she said.

"Well that's dumb," he said.

"Eric," Wes said, scolding him.

"This is the place," she said, ignoring his statement.

Wes took a step forward, knocking on the door. He didn't have to wait long before the door opened, only to see Katie aiming a disrupter at him.

"Who are…" she paused. "Wes?" she asked.

"Well hello to you too Katie," he said.

She put the disrupter down, wrapping her arms around him. "Its good to see you again," she said.

"You too," the three of them walked into the room. "This is Kitty, she's from the Xavier Institute," he introduced.

Just then, Adam injected himself into the conversation. "She's a mutant?" he asked.

"Yeah, I am," Kitty said.

"So what's your mutant power? Can you control cats or something?" he inquired.

"That's what I said," Eric added.

"Listen, we don't have a lot of time before the Summit starts. We have to find a way to stop Magneto," Wes mentioned.

"I know, we got a visit from Professor Xavier. He told us we should use the zords to…" he was cut short.

"Mystique," Kitty said.

"What?"

"Mystique, she's a shape shifting mutant. The Professor never came here," she said.

"But we all saw him. He's a bald guy in a wheelchair, kinda sexy," Katie said.

Adam turned to her. "You thought he was sexy?"

"A little,"

"It wasn't him. Mystique works for Magneto and probably came here to trick you into calling the zords here. If you do, Magneto will take control of them and use them to destroy the entire city, then wage a war with the rest of the world," she explained.

"So what are we suppose to do without the zords?" Adam asked.

"Actually, we _are _going to call them. I have a plan," Wes said.****


	62. Chapter LXII: X pt 4: ENDGAME

Wes and Eric pulled up in a truck, quickly getting out and heading to the back of the truck. Eric opened the doors, and Wes opened a yellow brief case, pulling out two small antennas. After setting them up, he pressed a button on the briefcase, and an image of Tommy appeared in-between the antenna.

_'Wes, is everything in position?' _he asked him.

"Yes. Taylor is standing by with the air force, the Silver Guardians are positioned around the building and the other rangers are standing by," Wes told him.

_'Excellent. Are you sure this is going to work?'_ he asked.

"It doesn't have to work, it only has to distract them long enough for Professor Xavier to do his thing," he said.

'Lt. Emery and I are prepping a time ship for launch. We'll be bringing medical supplies and standing by just in case we're needed.' 

"Something tells me all of us aren't going to come out of this in one piece,"

'Good luck Wes. Tommy out,' 

The screen blinked off, and Wes quickly put the equipment away. Eric closed the truck doors, and the two of them headed over to the entrance of the building where groups of Silver Guardians were standing guard.

"Everything secure Cooper?" Eric asked him.

Lt. Cooper stood at attention. "Yes sir. No one is getting in or out," he said. At that moment, Kitty walked through the wall, standing next to him. "Well that doesn't count," he mentioned.

"At ease Lt.," he turned to Kitty. "Are your friends in position?" he asked.

"Yep, we're all ready," she said.

"Good. Lets do it guys," Wes said.

~~

On the opposite side of the building, the blue and yellow rangers guarded as world leaders made their way into the building. There were other guards on hand, ensuring the safety of the world leaders.

_'Camille to Trip,'_ a voice said.

The blue ranger reached for his Morpher. "I'm here Cammy. Is everyone in position?" he asked.

'I'm on the roof now, but there is no sign of Magneto or any of his sentinels. I'll keep a look out though,' she said.

"Let me know if you see anything, we don't think want them sneaking up on…" he was cut short as there was an explosion.

Security scrambled to get the world leaders inside as the yellow and blue ranger rushed over to the car that exploded.

"What the…" this time, Katie was cut short as the car seemed to rise. It was over 20 feet in the air before it split in half, falling to the ground. Through the smoke, **he** approached them. 

He was wearing a metallic purple colored outside, complete with helmet and cape. Though the helmet covered most of his face, the sinister look in his eyes was easy to see.

"Ah, the power rangers. It's a pleasure to finally meet you," he said, extending his hand to them.

Suddenly, their morphers were snatched off their wrists, forcing them to power down instantly. The morphers floated towards him. "I am Magneto," he introduced.

"Excuse us if we weren't jumping for joy to finally meet you," Katie said.

"Not all in. In fact, I think we've had enough of the idol chit chat," he said, flicking his wrist slightly and lunging both pieces of the car at them. The bumper of the car caught Katie in the side of the head, knocking her out cold. Trip tried to make a move, but the other side of the car hit him in the chest, taking him down.

Just then, Camille jumped off the roof of the building with Chrono Saber in hand, trying to attack Magneto, but again, a flick of the wrist was all it took to suspend the saber in mid air. Camille found herself holding onto the sword to avoid falling, but Magneto nodded at her slightly, snatching her Morpher off her wrist. She was forced to power down, and as the sword fell to the ground, so did she.

"That's far enough Magneto," a voice said.

He turned around as Eric raced over to him, connecting with a kick to the side of the head. It forced Magneto to stumble back, and also gave Wes a chance to Morpher, then call for his Chrono saber. He swung at Magneto, but the blade stopped inches away from Magneto, then spun around and lunged itself at Wes, stabbing him in the stomach. Wes fell to the ground as he de-morphed, Magneto kicked Eric in the chest, knocking him up against the side of the building.

"Personally, I was expecting a lot more from the legendary power rangers. But no matter," he said, waving his hand slightly as the debris was pushed aside.

At that moment, two sentinels walked up behind Magneto, each of them about 15 feet tall. He nodded, giving them the signal to destroy the building. The two of them headed for the building, but just then, an airplane came speeding towards one of them. The cockpit opened as Taylor jumped out, allowing the plane to collide one of the sentinels. There was a huge explosion, but as the dust settled, the sentinel was still standing.

Taylor cut herself free from the parachute, reaching for her Morpher. "Wild Access," she called out, but before she could complete the sequence, Magneto snatched her Morpher away from her.

"Another ranger? Interesting," he said, giving her a backhand that knocked her out cold.

The sentinels continued towards the building, but paused as a vortex of some kind opened in the sky. Just then, the Time Shadow Megazord came through the vortex, landing a few feet away from the sentinels. By comparison, the Time Shadow seemed to tower over both of the sentinels, and with one punch, the megazord put a hole through the sentinel's chest. 

The second sentinel made a move, but the Time Force megazord came through the vortex, picking up the sentinel and throwing it to the ground. There was an explosion, and the Time Shadow kicked the first sentinel, taking it down as well. With both sentinels in ruin, Trip got back to his feet.

"Give up Magneto, your times up," he told him.

"On the contrary ranger…" he flicked his wrist, taking control of both the megazords. "… your time is up," Magneto said.

The Time Shadow lifted its foot off the ground and was ready to stomp Trip, but he rolled out the way. The impact was enough to shake the entire building.

"You won't get away with this Magneto," he said.

"But I already have ranger. I have control of your zords, and there is nothing standing in the way of me destroy every human on this planet," he told him.

Magneto lifted his arm, ready to give the command to destroy the building, but his helmet seemed to float off his head. He quickly turned around as Adam de-cloaked with the helmet in hand. The gold blade extended from Adam's forearm, slicing the helmet in half.

"Foolish human," Magneto snapped. He flicked his wrist, lifting Adam up in the air, but Magneto fell to the ground, holding his head in pain. "Damn it Charles," he screamed.

Professor Xavier rolled towards Magneto in his wheelchair. "Its over Magneto," he said calmly.

"That's where you're wrong," a voice said.

Before he could turn around, Sabertooth rushed at the Professor. He was inches away from him, but Eric grabbed Sabertooth, knocking him against the side of the zord's leg. 

"QUANTUM POWER," he called out, morphing into the Quantum Ranger.

Sabertooth charged at him, but Eric fell to the ground, giving Sabertooth a judo style toss up against the wall. Sabertooth actually went through the building, leaving a hole. As he pulled himself out the rubble, Eric called for the Quantum Defender, aimed and fired, hitting Sabertooth in the chest.

With Sabertooth out the way, Jean Gray and Cyclops grabbed Magneto. A huge black plane circled overhead, coming down as low it could.

"Thank you rangers, you have done the world a great service," the Professor said as they pulled Magneto into the plane, flying away.

*** hours later ***

Carter stood off to the side with a somber look on his face as a group of Time Force officers searched through the rubble. It was Tommy who walked over to him, extending his hand to him.

"Was the Summit a success?" he asked him.

"Yes, the world leaders have agreed to sign a non-aggression agreement with mutants. It will take a while, but we'll all learn to co-exist. This is a new beginning, for all of us," he told them.

"Good,"

"Are your friends okay?" he asked.

Tommy shook his head slightly. "There were heavy causalities for the air force, and severe injuries for the Silver Guardians and for some of my people. It doesn't look good. I'll get the rangers back to the year 3000 for treatment. I suspect they'll need some time to heal," he sighed.

"Thank you for everything you've done here. This is a huge step for the human race. What we do here will shape the future," he said.

"Trust me, I know,"

Just then, Lt. Emery walked over to Tommy. "Commander," he said, standing at attention.

"At ease Lt. What do you have James?" he inquired.

"Wesley Collins was seriously injured; a stab wound through the stomach. He's been taken to a local hospital and should make a recovery. The Quantum Ranger has a few minor cuts and bruises, but should be okay. Katie has a serious concussion, she's onboard the time ship now resting," he told him.

"Very good. What about Trip and Camille?" he asked.

He paused. "I'm sorry sir, they're… dead," he sighed.


End file.
